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The Carter Center said it was unable to verify the results of Venezuela’s presidential election and accused authorities of a “total lack of transparency.” Nicolas Maduro declared winner No individual poll results are provided.
The Atlanta-based group’s statement late Tuesday was perhaps the harshest rebuke yet of Venezuela’s chaotic electoral process, as it was one of a handful of outside organizations invited by Maduro’s government to observe the vote.
The Carter Center said: “The failure of election authorities to release election results broken down by polling station is a serious violation of election principles.”
The group, which includes a technical delegation of 17 experts spread across four Venezuelan cities, also said the election did not meet international standards and “cannot be considered democratic.”
The Carter Center’s harsh criticism capped a long second day. Maduro opponents protest election results They said their candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, beat the incumbent by more than two to one.
Maduro’s government has not taken the criticism lightly and on Tuesday stepped up its attacks on the opposition, with some allies suggesting the arrest of the opposition’s most influential leader and presidential candidate.
The attacks, broadcast on state television, came a day after the opposition unexpectedly released detailed voting data, saying Edmundo Gonzalez won by a landslide, following the announcement by the National Electoral Council, which is loyal to Maduro and the ruling party, that he had won.
The Election Commission has not yet released any results at the polling center level, which are from the tally sheets printed by more than 30,000 electronic voting machines after polls close. The commission is not obliged to do so, but in previous elections it has posted the data online within hours.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva spoke by phone and agreed that Venezuela must release its data and said the election results “represent a critical moment for democracy in the Western Hemisphere,” according to a White House summary of the call.
Biden and Lula “agreed on the need for Venezuelan electoral authorities to immediately release complete, transparent and detailed voting data at the polling station level,” the statement said.
Venezuela has the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves and was once Latin America’s most advanced economy, but it After Maduro came to power in 2013, the economy went into free fall.
Collapsing oil prices, widespread shortages and hyperinflation that soared to more than 130,000% led to social unrest and mass emigration.
More than 7.7 million Venezuelans have left the country since 2014, the largest exodus in Latin America’s recent history.
Thousands of supporters took to the streets of the capital, Caracas, as both sides defended their victories.
A large number of opposition supporters gathered outside the UN office.
Opposition heavyweight Maria Corina Machado stood atop a truck and called on the National Electoral Council to release the vote count, saying: “Why aren’t they publishing it?”
Machado said the main opposition coalition had more than 84% of the votes counted, with results showing Gonzalez had received more than twice as many votes as Maduro.
“The only thing we are willing to negotiate is a peaceful transition,” Machado said, as the crowd chanted: “We are fearless!”
Opposition supporters elsewhere in the city were attacked with tear gas on Tuesday.
Attorney General Tariq William Sabu told reporters that more than 700 protesters were arrested during nationwide demonstrations on Monday. He also said a police officer had been killed.
Machado and Gonzalez urged their supporters to remain calm and avoid violence.
“Remember this number, when the votes are counted, I will have more than 8 million votes,” Gonzalez said, flanked by his wife and Machado, who has been banned by Maduro’s government from running for 15 years. “We are going to start rebuilding Venezuela.”
Hours before their celebrations began, the Organization of American States sharply criticized the government for not releasing the data and recommended new elections monitored by international observers.
“The worst and most despicable form of repression is to prevent people from finding solutions through elections,” the Organization of American States said in a statement.
“The obligation of every Venezuelan institution should be to ensure that the electoral process is free, fair and transparent.”
Maduro’s closest ruling party allies came to his defense. National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez – his Chief negotiator for talks between the United States and the opposition — insists Maduro is the undisputed winner and calls the opposition violent fascists.
He praised the arrests of protesters and said Machado should be jailed, as should Gonzalez “because he is the leader of a fascist conspiracy that is trying to impose its rule in Venezuela.”
Diosdado Cabello, a lawmaker and leader of the ruling party, later said: “We are going to defeat them because these people are not worth shedding one more drop of blood for fascism.”
UN human rights chief Volker Turk expressed concern about the post-election atmosphere.
“I am deeply troubled by the hundreds of arrests, including children,” he said in a statement. “I am appalled by reports of excessive use of force by law enforcement officers and violence by armed pro-government elements.”
Long lines began forming outside supermarkets and other stores in Caracas on Tuesday as residents apparently expected the demonstrations to last a long time and possibly lead to food shortages.
In the port city of La Guaira, people toppled a statue of Maduro’s mentor and predecessor, the late President Hugo Chavez, during a protest on Monday, dragged it through the street and burned it.
Maduro unveiled the statue in 2017, and as of Tuesday, its base was completely destroyed, scattered with twisted steel bars and broken cement.
The election was one of the most peaceful in recent years, reflecting hopes that Venezuela can avoid bloodshed and end 25 years of one-party rule.
The victor will take control of an economy barely recovering from collapse and a population desperate for change.
During a televised meeting of the National Defense Council on Tuesday, Maduro accused retired diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia of being responsible for “criminal violence, criminals, wounded, death and destruction.”
“You will be held directly responsible, Mr. González Urrutia, and you, Ms. Machado, justice must be done, Venezuela must be done, because this cannot happen again.”
Maduro then spoke from the balcony of the presidential palace, calling Gonzalez a coward and challenging him to confront him.
“Follow me!” he yelled. “Let me see your face… where are you hiding, Mr. Coward?”
Machado shocked Venezuelans on Monday when he announced that the opposition had received the vote count, which showed González received about 6.2 million votes to Maduro’s 2.7 million.
A few hours ago, the electoral commission announced that Maduro had about 5.1 million votes, while Gonzalez had more than 4.4 million votes.
Machado said the opposition has created a searchable website with images of every vote tally sheet.
The estimated number of eligible voters is about 17 million.
Another 4 million Venezuelans are registered but live abroad, many of whom do not meet the requirements to register to vote abroad.
As Machado and Gonzalez stood atop the truck, supporters began chanting “President! President!”
“There was an air of victory about this gathering,” Gonzalez told them.
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