Opposition leader participates in protest demanding annulment of Venezuela presidential election results
CARACAS, Venezuela — Numerous individuals gathered in the streets of Venezuela’s capital Saturday, brandishing the national flag and singing the national anthem in solidarity with an opposition candidate they perceive as the victor of the presidential election by a significant margin.
Authorities have proclaimed President Nicolás Maduro the victor of last Sunday’s election but have not yet presented voting tallies to validate his win. Maduro also called on his supporters to participate in his own “mother of all marches” later Saturday in Caracas.
The government detained hundreds of opposition followers who assembled in the streets in the days following the disputed poll, and the president and his entourage have also threatened to incarcerate opposition figure, María Corina Machado, and her chosen presidential candidate, Edmundo González.
During Saturday’s event, supporters cheered and sang as Machado appeared at the demonstration in Caracas. Enthusiastic, they congregated around her as she ascended onto an elevated platform on a truck to address the crowd.
“After six days of severe repression, they believed they could silence us, intimidate, or paralyze us,” she informed them. “The presence of each one of you here today embodies the finest of Venezuela.”
Machado, who has been prohibited by Maduro’s government from running for office for 15 years, had been concealing herself since Tuesday, stating that her life and freedom are in jeopardy. Masked attackers raided the opposition’s headquarters on Friday, confiscating documents and defacing the area.
During Saturday, she raised a Venezuelan flag and pledged that the government whose policies drove millions of Venezuelans to depart was finally nearing its conclusion.
“We have surmounted all obstacles! We have demolished them all,” Machado declared. “Never has the regime been so feeble.”
González, who remains concealed, was not spotted at the gathering, and once the demonstration concluded, Machado was handed a nondescript shirt and spirited away on the rear of a motorcycle.
Carmen Elena García, a 57-year-old street merchant, attended the rally despite dreading a government crackdown.
“They must respect me and all the Venezuelans who cast their votes against this government,” García stated. “We will not tolerate them stealing our votes. They must honor our votes.”
A procession of pro-government motorcyclists, who have functioned as militia for Maduro previously, rode near the opposition demonstration, but no clashes occurred. There was only a minimal police presence.
The Organization of American States on Saturday advocated for “reconciliation and justice” in Venezuela, asserting that “let all Venezuelans who express themselves in the streets find only an echo of peace, a peace that reflects the spirit of democracy.”
Later Saturday, droves of government advocates congregated outside Maduro’s headquarters at the Miraflores national palace. Clad in red caps and shirts — the hue of Maduro’s party — they danced and listened to folk melodies. There were fewer national flags and numerous umbrellas to shield against the scorching Caracas sun.
In a lengthy, meandering address fueled by copious cups of coffee, Maduro shouted, whistled, sang, and cracked jokes, meandering from popular culture to religious allusions. He reiterated his intention to detain and imprison more adversaries, including González, but also called for reconciliation and tranquility.
“There is space in Venezuela for everyone,” he declared, labeling it “the blessed land of opportunity.”
Machado and González, a 74-year-old former diplomat, asserted tally sheets they obtained from voting machines in polling centers nationwide demonstrate that Maduro undeniably lost his attempt for a third six-year term.
An Associated Press analysis Friday of vote tally sheets released by the opposition coalition suggests that Gonzalez garnered significantly more votes in the election than the government has asserted, casting serious doubt on the official declaration that Maduro emerged victorious.
Late Friday, Venezuela’s high court, the Supreme Justice Tribunal, directed the Maduro-controlled National Electoral Council to surrender the precinct vote count sheets within three days. Multiple governments, including Maduro’s nearby regional allies, have demanded Venezuela’s electoral authorities release the precinct-level tallies, as done after past elections.
The AP analyzed nearly 24,000 images of tally sheets, representing the outcomes from 79% of voting machines. Each sheet encoded vote counts in QR codes, which the AP systematically decoded and evaluated, resulting in tabulations of 10.26 million votes.
According to the computations, González garnered 6.89 million votes, nearly half a million more than the government claims Maduro obtained. The tabulations also reveal Maduro received 3.13 million votes from the released tally sheets.
In contrast, the National Electoral Council stated Friday that based on 96.87% of tally sheets, Maduro had secured 6.4 million votes and Gonzalez had 5.3 million. National Electoral Council President Elvis Amoroso attributed the delay in submitting complete results to assaults on the “technological infrastructure.”
The tally sheets, known in Spanish as “actas,” are lengthy printouts resembling shopping receipts. They have long been regarded as the definitive evidence of election outcomes in Venezuela.
The AP could not independently verify the authenticity of the 24,532 tally sheets provided by the opposition. The AP successfully extracted data from 96% of the provided vote tallies, with the remaining 4% of images too poor to interpret.
The Biden administration has firmly thrown its backing behind the opposition. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement Thursday citing “overwhelming evidence that Post Views: 272