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Venezuela’s opposition leader on Monday called on the military – President Nicolas Maduro’s main pillar of support – to oppose him and “stand on the side of the people” following his disputed re-election – a call that was quickly hit with a criminal investigation.
Prosecutors said they had opened an investigation into opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia for inciting disobedience and rebellion by declaring the election winner someone other than Maduro.
The opposition insists González Urrutia is the legitimate winner of the July 28 presidential election that plunged the oil-rich country into a political crisis.
Several countries, including the United States and Argentina, have recognized González Urrutia as the winner, while others, such as the European Union, have not yet done so, while calling for the full release of voting records.
The disputed election sparked protests last week that left at least 11 civilians dead, according to human rights groups.
“We appeal to the conscience of soldiers and police to stand by the people and their families,” the opposition said in a statement, which also offered guarantees to “those who carry out their constitutional duties” in a possible “new government.”
The statement, signed by “President-elect” González Urrutia, also urged security forces to stop their “repression” of opposition protests.
The government reported that two soldiers died in the clashes.
The opposition statement noted that top commanders “are aligned with Maduro and his vile interests, while your representatives are the people who went out to vote … Their will was expressed on July 28, and you know it.”
Prosecutors hit back in a statement, saying the opposition duo had “violated the constitution and the law by falsely announcing a different result from the winner of the presidential election announced by the National Electoral Council.”
On Friday, the National Electoral Council (CNE) certified Maduro’s victory, with the former vice president winning 52 percent of the vote to González Urrutia’s 43 percent.
The opposition has uploaded voting records to a website claiming to show González Urrutia won with 67% of the vote.
The opposition accuses the CNE of being loyal to Maduro, but the CNE has yet to provide voting details for each polling station and says it is the victim of a computer hacking attack.
Maduro asked the Supreme Court, which is also loyal to him, to “certify” the election results through a process that academic and political leaders said was inappropriate.
“The Supreme Court has the final say, and this process is under attack like never before,” Maduro said.
The Supreme Court’s electoral department has asked the National Electoral Council to provide vote counts from across the country and official documents finalizing the results showing Maduro’s victory. The deadline for releasing those documents is Monday.
Call for dialogue
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Monday called on the Venezuelan government and the opposition to engage in dialogue to resolve the election dispute.
“The commitment to peace leads us to call on all parties to engage in dialogue and promote understanding between the government and the opposition,” Lula said during a state visit to Chile where he met with Chilean President Gabriel Boric.
Lula, an ally of Maduro, is engaging in a sensitive diplomatic balancing act as he presses the Venezuelan president to release voting records to resolve the dispute.
Earlier on Monday, Lula spoke by phone with French President Emmanuel Macron.
“We support the Venezuelan people’s desire for transparent elections. This is at the heart of any democracy,” Macron wrote on social media after the call.
The Elysee presidential palace said Macron and Lula “called on the Venezuelan authorities to publish the voting records of all polling stations in order to guarantee the transparency and integrity of the electoral process.”
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