CARACAS: Venezuela braced for fresh protests Saturday, after President Nicolas Maduro’s disputed election victory was ratified – and a growing number of nations recognized his opposition rival as the true winner.
Both Maduro and the opposition, led by Maria Corina Machado and her presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, have called on their supporters to demonstrate this weekend, in the wake of Sunday’s controversial vote.
The South American country’s CNE election authority, which is loyal to Maduro, on Friday proclaimed him the winner with 52 percent of the vote and said Gonzalez Urrutia had garnered 43 percent of ballots.
But Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and Uruguay recognized opposition Gonzalez Urrutia as the true president-elect, joining the United States and Peru in rejecting the official results.
For his part, the 61-year-old Maduro – who has reacted fiercely to criticism of his victory – described allegations of vote fraud as a “trap” orchestrated by Washington to justify “a coup.”
US recognizes Maduro’s opponent as winner in Venezuela election
He also has threatened Machado and Gonzalez Urrutia, saying they “should be behind bars.”
Maduro has led the oil-rich, cash-poor country since 2013, presiding over a GDP drop of 80 percent that pushed more than seven million of once-wealthy Venezuela’s 30 million citizens to emigrate.
Experts blame economic mismanagement and US sanctions for the collapse.
Gonzalez Urrutia did not show up to a hearing at the Supreme Court after Maduro requested the tribunal investigate and certify the election result.
However, other opposition candidates summoned to the hearing called for a detailed vote count to be made public after Sunday’s vote, which was held amid widespread fear the vote would be rigged.
Voting records “are fundamental for transparency, they are fundamental for peace,” said Enrique Marquez, who also ran against Maduro as part of a smaller opposition group.
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