Latin Election Controversy: Supreme Court Supports Maduro's Claims

Latin Election Controversy: Supreme Court Supports Maduro's Claims

CARACAS, Venezuela — The Venezuela Supreme Court has backed President Nicolás Maduro's claims that he won last month's presidential election, asserting that forged voting tallies circulated online showed he lost by a landslide. This ruling is part of Maduro's strategy to quell protests and address international criticism following the contested vote on July 28, where he sought a third six-year term.

The high court, filled with Maduro loyalists, rarely makes decisions against the government. The court's decision, announced at an event with senior officials and foreign diplomats, was prompted by a request from Maduro to verify votes that allegedly indicated he had won by over 1 million votes.

Opposition Accusations and Judicial Actions

The main opposition coalition accuses Maduro of attempting to steal the election. Thanks to efforts on election day, opposition volunteers gathered voting tallies from approximately 80% of the 30,000 polling booths nationwide, indicating that opposition candidate Edmundo González led by more than a 2-to-1 ratio.

The results feature QR codes on the official tally sheets, facilitating verification and rendering replication exceedingly difficult. “An attempt to judicialize the results doesn’t change the truth: we won overwhelmingly, and we have the voting records to prove it,” stated González in a video posted online.

However, the high court's ruling contradicts assessments by experts from organizations like the United Nations and the Carter Center, who determined the announced election results were not credible. They pointed out the absence of detailed results broken down by polling booth, which has been routine in past elections.

Claims of Cyberattacks and International Criticism

The government has made unfounded claims of a cyberattack orchestrated by hackers from North Macedonia, alleging this delayed vote counting and publication of results. After the election, opposition figure González and his main supporter, Maria Corina Machado, went into hiding as security forces arrested over 2,000 individuals and suppressed ensuing demonstrators.

Numerous foreign governments, including the U.S. and Maduro's allies, have urged the release of the complete breakdown of election results. Chilean President Gabriel Boric criticized the court’s certification, stating, “Today, Venezuela’s TSJ has finally consolidated the fraud. There is no doubt we are facing a dictatorship that falsifies elections.”