Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is facing pressure to release evidence verifying the results of Sunday’s presidential election, which he claims to have won. Both Maduro and his challenger, Edmundo González, have declared victory, leading to protests where at least 12 people have died and 92 injured. Maduro has offered to show all electoral tally sheets and called for an audit by the Supreme Court, which is loyal to his regime.
Opposition members have presented an independent vote tabulation initiative showing González won with 66.12% of the votes, in contrast to Maduro’s 31.39%. This count is based on official tallies received from party monitors on Election Day. Foreign governments and observers have been given access to this information. The Carter Center, among others, has criticized the lack of transparency in declaring Maduro the winner without providing individual polling tallies.
Peru recognized González as the president-elect, leading Venezuela to sever diplomatic ties. Maduro is using an app to report on protesters and opposition members, as the country faces an economic collapse and the largest displacement crisis in the region. Support for Maduro is declining, even among Chavismo supporters, due to perceived government corruption. Colombian and American presidents, among others, have called for the release of vote tallies. Russia, Cuba, Honduras, and Bolivia have accepted Maduro as the winner.
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