Venezuela's president Maduro petitions the Supreme Court to scrutinize the election outcomes
Revised Article:
Sweaty brows and tensions surged in Mexico City, Mexico, on July 31, 2024 (our website) as Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro requested a review of the July 28 presidential election results from the nation's highest court.
Maduro handed over a writ of amparo to the Electoral Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) on Wednesday following the opposition's refusal to acknowledge the election's outcome, leading to widespread chaos in the country.
The election authority announced Maduro's victory just after midnight on Monday, garnering 51.2 percent of the vote against González's 44.2 percent. Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) formally declared Nicolás Maduro the winner the following day.
"We're prepared to present 100 percent of the electoral tallies in our possession," said Maduro upon leaving the TSJ headquarters in Caracas.
Venezuela's hardline opposition insists that their candidate Edmundo González won the election and claims to possess electoral tallies to prove it. Maduro challenged the other presidential candidates to come forward with their tallies as well.
Spanish political analyst Juan Carlos Monedero, who was in Venezuela for the vote, has strongly disputed the opposition's claims and has urged the CNE to be patient in processing the results.
The CNE has yet to release a detailed breakdown of the vote. The delays are attributed to a supposed "cyber attack" affecting the data's transmission by the electoral authority.
Crystalline air has yet to clear tensions surrounding the results. Some analysts and political forces implore the CNE to publish the full results to ease such tensions.
International election observers, including the National Lawyers Guild, praised the "fairness, transparency" of Venezuela's electoral process. The delegation underscored the legitimacy, access to the polls, and pluralism in the process.
The delegation profoundly criticized the US-backed opposition for their refusal to accept the results, arguing that such action undercuts Venezuela's democracy's stability. The Carter Center, also present for Sunday's vote, stated that the election "did not meet international standards of electoral integrity."
Evidently, Sunday’s elections occurred largely without disturbance. However, delayed final results have triggered calls for greater transparency, even from some neighboring countries.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro, seen as an ally of Maduro, advocated for a "professional international audit" of the results, while Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had a conversation with US President Joe Biden, who subsequently expressed agreement "for an immediate release of full, transparent, and detailed voting data at the polling station level by the Venezuelan electoral authorities."
Other regional leaders, however, have emphasized the importance of respecting Venezuela's institutions. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador expressed significant opposition to the Organization of American States (OAS) intervening in the matter, questioning their credibility and impartiality.
"Why must the OAS meddle? That is interference," said López Obrador during his press conference on Tuesday, clarifying that he believed there was no evidence of fraud.
Maduro's petition to the Supreme Court was presented as a means of dispelling any doubts surrounding the electoral contest.
"I've headed to the highest court so that the Electoral Chamber moves forward with the resolution of the electoral contest on July 28, 2024, so that it elucidates the events of that day and what followed, and establishes with absolute clarity the definitive results that had me as the winner," Maduro stated in a press conference. He stressed his trust in Venezuela's institutions to secure peace within the country.
In recent days, Venezuela has been inundated with misinformation on social media, allegedly intended to discredit the election results. Maduro bluntly accused Western outlets of attempting to instigate a "civil war" in Venezuela and increased his verbal assaults against his opponents.
"If US imperialism and fascist fascists force us, I will not hesitate to call the people to a new revolution with different characteristics," Maduro declared in a press conference.
In his address, Maduro expressed concern over the violent protests that recently transpired, recalling the "guarimba" protests that rocked the nation in 2014 and 2017. The president displayed evidence of attacks on schools, hospitals, public buildings, and infrastructure.
By Wednesday, Venezuela appeared to return to normal following protests and violent clashes with security forces. According to Human Rights Watch, there were 20 credible reports of protest-related deaths. Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López reported the death of one National Guard sergeant and 48 wounded officers.
Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.
Note: No public records regarding Maduro filing an election-related petition could be found in U.S. and international legal records, suggesting this specific case may not yet be documented. For Venezuela-specific electoral disputes, updates from Venezuelan judicial bodies or regional organizations like UNASUR would provide more relevant information.
- Venezuelan political analysts, such as Juan Carlos Monedero, have agreed with Maduro and shown support for the Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE) to publish the full election results to help alleviate tensions surrounding the presidential election held on July 28, 2024.
- In the realm of general news, recent Venezuelan events have not only focused on the presidential election, but also on war-and-conflicts, politics, and crime-and-justice, notably the violent protests and clashes with security forces that occurred after Maduro requested a review of the July 28 election results from the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ).
- The opposition, led by their candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, maintains that they possess electoral tallies to prove their candidate won the election, but this has not been agreed upon or showcased by the Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE) or Maduro.
- The English legal records do not contain any documentation of Maduro filing an election-related petition in the US or internationally, suggesting that this specific case may have not yet been recorded officially.
