A Venezuelan national holds a sign with a message that reads in Spanish: “Free Venezuela”, and “Out Maduro”, during a demonstration in support of opposition Venezuelan presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, in front of the Itamaraty Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado called Thursday, August 1, 2024 for protests “in every city” in the nation on Saturday to denounce the disputed reelection of President Nicolas Maduro.

The oil-rich Latin American nation was plunged into political crisis after Mr. Maduro was announced the victor of Sunday, July 28 ‘s election — a result that defied pre-election polls and has drawn global criticism.

“We must remain firm, organized and mobilized with the pride of having achieved a historic victory on July 28, and the awareness that to claim victory we will also go all the way,” Machado said on social media.

Earlier Thursday, she wrote in the Wall Street Journal that she was in hiding and “fearing for my life” after Mr. Maduro’s contested victory, which led to hundreds of arrests following deadly protests this week.

Machado reiterated her claim that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia was the rightful winner, saying he won “67 percent to 30 percent” based on tallies obtained from most of the nation’s polling stations.

The government-aligned National Electoral Council declared that Mr. Maduro won with 51 percent of the vote. Mr. Maduro has said he has evidence of his victory and was “ready to present 100 percent of the records.”

“You have blood on your hands,” Mr. Maduro said July 31, referring to Gonzalez Urrutia and Machado. “They should be behind bars.”

Machado — who was barred from running in the election by institutions loyal to Mr. Maduro — said most opposition figures were now in hiding.

“I could be captured as I write these words,” Machado wrote, calling for “those who reject authoritarianism and support democracy to join the Venezuelan people in our noble cause.”

In a message to his supporters, Gonzalez Urrutia wrote on X: “I will never leave you alone, and I will always defend your will!”

At least 20 people have died in protests that erupted after the election, according to Machado, while more than 1,000 have been jailed.

Venezuela’s supreme court has summoned all presidential candidates to a hearing on Friday afternoon following Mr. Maduro’s request that it initiate a process to investigate and certify the election result.

Diplomatic row

After days of anxiety that left streets largely deserted, normal life has begun to resume in the capital Caracas, with shops opening and public transport operating.

But regional spats were widening, with Venezuela withdrawing diplomats from eight critical Latin American countries and asking envoys from those nations to leave its territory.

Argentine President Javier Milei said his country’s diplomatic staff left Venezuela on Thursday and thanked Brazil for taking custody of its embassy.

Six Venezuelan opposition figures are currently under protection at the Argentine embassy.

Brazil’s foreign ministry announced it was also taking over representation of Peru in Venezuela.

Peru recognized Gonzalez Urrutia as Venezuela’s legitimate president on Tuesday, prompting Caracas to sever diplomatic ties.

The United States and the European Union have demanded Venezuelan authorities release detailed voting data, with top US diplomat Antony Blinken saying there was “overwhelming evidence” that Gonzalez Urrutia won the election.

In a joint statement, the governments of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico urged an “impartial verification” of the result, also calling for Caracas to publish voting data broken down by polling stations.

‘Bloodbath’

The July 28 elections were held in the shadow of Mr. Maduro’s warnings of a “bloodbath” if he were to lose, and amid widespread fear the vote would be rigged.

Attorney General Tarek William Saab said more than 1,000 people were arrested in protests that erupted on Monday and Tuesday in the wake of the election.

He also said one military officer was killed and 77 officials were injured.

Mr. Maduro has led the oil-rich country since 2013, presiding over a GDP drop of 80 percent that pushed more than seven million of once-wealthy Venezuela’s 30 million citizens to emigrate.

He is accused of locking up critics and harassing opponents in a climate of rising authoritarianism.

Mr. Maduro’s previous reelection, in 2018, was rejected by dozens of Latin American and other countries, including the United States and EU members.

Years of damaging US sanctions failed to dislodge the president, who enjoys loyalty from the military leadership, electoral bodies, courts and other state institutions, as well as the backing of Russia, China and Cuba.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks after the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela July 29, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States has ‘serious concerns’ about the announced result of Venezuela’s hotly contested presidential election that authorities say was won by incumbent Nicolas Maduro.

Speaking in Tokyo on July 29 shortly after the announcement was made, Mr. Blinken said the U.S. was concerned that the result reflected neither the will nor the votes of the Venezuelan people. He called for election officials to publish the full results transparently and immediately and said the U.S. and the international community would respond accordingly.

“We have seen the announcement just a short while ago by the Venezuelan Electoral Commission,” he said. “We have serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people.”

“It’s critical that every vote be counted fairly and transparently that the electoral authorities immediately share information with the opposition and independent observers without delay and that the electoral authorities publish the tabulation of votes. The international community is watching this very closely and will respond accordingly,” Mr. Blinken said.

A supporter of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro arrives at Miraflores Palace to wait for the results of the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela on July 28, 2024. The poster reads: ‘Venezuela always win’.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

President Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner in Venezuela’s presidential election on July 28, even as his opponents were preparing to dispute the results, setting up a high-stakes showdown that will determine whether the South American nation transitions away from one party rule.

Elvis Amoroso, head of the National Electoral Council, said Mr. Maduro secured 51% of the vote, overcoming Opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, who garnered 44%. He said the results were based on 80% of voting stations, marking an irreversible trend.

It came as Opposition leaders were already celebrating, online and outside a few voting centres, what they saw as a landslide victory for Mr. Gonzalez. Their hope was boosted by purported exit polls showing a healthy margin of victory for Mr. Gonzalez. Exit polls are not allowed under Venezuelan law.

The delay in announcing results — six hours after polls were supposed to close — indicated a deep debate inside the government about how to proceed after Mr. Maduro’s opponents came out early in the evening all but claiming victory.

The electoral authority, which is controlled by Maduro loyalists, has yet to release the official voting tallies from each of the 30,000 polling centers, hampering the Opposition’s ability to verify the results.

Opposition representatives said tallies they collected from campaign representatives at 30% of voting centres showed Mr. Gonzalez trouncing Mr. Maduro.

Mr. Maduro seeking a third term, faced his toughest challenge yet from the unlikeliest of opponents: Edmundo Gonzalez, a retired diplomat who was unknown to voters before being tapped in April as a last-minute stand-in for Opposition powerhouse Maria Corina Machado.