CARACAS: Venezuela braced for fresh protests Saturday after President Nicolas Maduro's election victory was certified and a growing number of countries acknowledged his opposition rival as the de facto winner.
Both Maduro and the opposition, led by presidential candidates María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia, have urged supporters to show their support this weekend after Sunday's controversial vote.
The South American country's CNE elections office, which is loyal to Maduro, declared Maduro the winner on Friday with 52 percent of the vote and said Gonzalez Urrutia had 43 percent.
But Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and Uruguay have recognized opposition leader Gonzalez Urrutia as the new president, joining the United States and Peru in rejecting the official election results.
Maduro, 61, who has fiercely responded to criticism of his victory, has called allegations of electoral fraud a “trap” set up by Washington as a reason to “stage a coup”.
He also threatened Machado and Gonzalez Urrutia, saying, “They should be in jail.”
Maduro has ruled the oil-rich but cash-strapped country since 2013, preventing an 80 percent decline in GDP that has forced more than seven million of Venezuelans' once-wealthy population to flee.
Experts blame economic mismanagement and US sanctions for the collapse.
Gonzalez Urrutia failed to appear at Supreme Court hearing after Maduro asked the court to investigate and certify election results.
However, other opposition candidates summoned to the trial have called for a detailed vote count to be made public after Sunday's vote, which was held amid widespread fears of fraud.
The voting record is “fundamental to transparency, fundamental to peace,” said Enrique Marquez, who is running against Maduro as part of a small opposition group.
The opposition launched a website this week that compiles 84 percent of the ballots, which it says easily won against Gonzalez Urrutia. The government claims the ballots were fake.
Machado, who was barred from running, wrote in The Wall Street Journal that she was in hiding and “feared for her life,” like other opposition leaders.
She called on supporters to rally Saturday in cities across the country to “reaffirm the truth” about the opposition’s victory.
“We have the evidence and the world has accepted it,” Machado wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Maduro calls for daily action, with first ever march to celebrate victory of peace on Saturday
He has accused the opposition of planning to attack security forces during the rally.
Nonprofit Foro Penal reported that 11 people were killed in protests on Monday and Tuesday, as Venezuelans took to the streets claiming their votes were stolen. Machado said at least 20 people were killed.
Authorities say more than 1,000 people have been arrested in post-election protests.
The crackdown has sparked fear among opposition supporters.
“We have dead, wounded, detainees, missing people… People know it, they are scared, they know they will face armed men,” said Katiusca Camargo, an activist in the Petare slum, east of Caracas.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday there was “overwhelming evidence” that Gonzalez Urrutia won the election.
Blinken spoke with Machado and Gonzalez Urrutia on Friday, expressing “concern for their safety and well-being” and congratulating Gonzalez Urrutia “on receiving the most votes,” the State Department said.
In a joint statement, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico called for an “impartial audit” of the election results and urged Caracas to release a breakdown of the vote by polling station.
Maduro's previous re-election in 2018 was rejected by several Latin American countries, including the United States and European Union member states.
He enjoys loyalty from military leaders, electoral bodies, the judiciary and other state institutions, as well as support from Russia, China and Cuba.
