Venezuela's Supreme Court upholds Maduro's election win claims

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s Supreme Court has upheld President Nicolas Maduro’s impeachment. He claims to have won the presidential election last month. He said the voting results posted online, which showed he lost by a landslide, were fraudulent.

The ruling is the latest attempt by Maduro to calm protests and international criticism that erupted after a disputed July 28 election in which the self-proclaimed socialist leader sought a third six-year term.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, center, with Congressman Diosdado Cabello, second from left, and first lady Cilia Flores, at a pro-government rally in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

The Supreme Court is filled with many Maduro loyalists, and has almost never ruled against the government.

Her decision, made Thursday at an event attended by senior officials and foreign diplomats, came in response to a request from Maduro to review the vote totals that showed he won by more than a million votes.

The main opposition coalition has accused Maduro of trying to steal votes.

Thanks to a brilliant field game on Election Day, opposition volunteers were able to collect copies of voting results from 80% of the 30,000 polling stations across the country showing opposition candidates. Edmundo Gonzalez He won by a margin of more than 2 to 1.

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado (bottom right) waves the Venezuelan national flag during a protest rally against the official results declaring President Nicolas Maduro the winner of the July presidential election, in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado reaches out to grab vote tally sheets during a protest rally against the official results declaring President Nicolas Maduro the winner of the July presidential election, in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

Official Counting papers Ballots are printed by each voting machine and carry a QR code that makes it easy for anyone to check the results, and is almost impossible to duplicate.

“Trying to legitimize the results does not change the truth: we won by a landslide and we have the voting records to prove it,” Gonzalez said, standing in front of the Venezuelan flag, in a video posted on social media.

The Supreme Court’s decision to certify the results contradicts the findings of UN and Carter Center experts who were invited to monitor the election and who said the results announced by the authorities lacked credibility. Specifically, the outside experts noted that the authorities had not published details of the results for each of the 30,000 polling stations across the country, as they have done in almost every previous election.

The government has claimed – without evidence – that a foreign cyberattack by hackers from North Macedonia delayed the counting of votes on election night and the publication of detailed results.

More than 50 countries head to the polls in 2024

Gonzalez was the only one of the 10 candidates who did not participate in the Supreme Court review, a fact noted by the justices, who accused him in their ruling of trying to spread panic.

The former diplomat and his main supporter, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, went into hiding after the election as security forces arrested more than 2,000 people and suppressed spontaneous demonstrations across the country in protest at the results.

Several foreign governments, including the United States as well as several Maduro allies, have called on the authorities to reveal full details of the results.

Gabriel Boric, Chile’s leftist president and a leading critic of Maduro’s electoral plan, criticized the Supreme Court’s ratification.

“Today, the Venezuelan Supreme Court has finally succeeded in establishing fraud,” he said on his X account, referring to the initials of the Supreme Court. “It is clear that the Maduro regime welcomes its ruling with enthusiasm… There is no doubt that we are facing a dictatorship that rigs elections.”

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