Venezuela: USA does not recognize Nicolás Maduro’s election victory

The USA does not recognize the official re-election of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The opposition candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, has won the election, said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement. The United States is thus increasing international pressure on the authoritarian socialist Maduro, who announced a tough crackdown after demonstrations.

The results from the polling stations are missing

After the election at the end of July, the pro-government electoral authority declared President Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, the winner. However, it has not yet published the detailed results for the individual voting districts.

The opposition accuses the government of electoral fraud and claims victory for González. As evidence, it published data which it claims are the results from more than 80 percent of the voting districts. According to this, González received 67 percent of the votes and Maduro only 30 percent.

According to the non-governmental organization Foro Penal, at least eleven people were killed in the protests against the election results. Maduro said 1,200 “criminals” have now been caught in a speech to supporters on the balcony of the presidential palace, as seen on state television. 1,000 more will follow.

“There will be no forgiveness”

They are rioters who were trained in the USA, Colombia, Chile and Peru as part of a coup attempt against him. Two maximum security prisons will soon be ready for them. “There will be no forgiveness,” Maduro said in another speech to businesspeople.

Maduro had previously said that González and opposition leader María Corina Machado also belonged in prison. Machado wrote in an article for the US newspaper “Wall Street Journal” that she was in hiding and feared for her freedom and her life. In a video shared on social media, she called for nationwide demonstrations on Saturday in which entire families should take part.

Machado was unable to run for election herself because she was banned from holding public office for 15 years due to alleged irregularities during her time as a member of parliament. The opposition viewed this as deliberate harassment before the election.

The independent US organization Carter Center, which sent election observers to Venezuela, described the entire vote as undemocratic. Maduro requested an investigation into the election by the Supreme Court, which is considered loyal to the government. The electoral chamber of the court summoned all ten candidates to a hearing on August 2.

“Edmundo González received the most votes”

“Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people that Edmundo González Urrutia won the majority of votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election,” said US Secretary of State Blinken. It is now time for the parties in the South American country to begin talks on a “peaceful transition.”

The foreign ministers of the G7 industrialized countries had called on Venezuela’s authorities to publish the detailed results. The left-leaning heads of state of three major Latin American countries – Brazil, Mexico and Colombia – also did so in a joint statement.

Maduro under suspicion since 2018

Maduro’s re-election in 2018 was not recognized by many countries. The then parliamentary president, Juan Guaidó, declared himself interim president. The USA, Germany and other countries recognized him, but he was unable to assert himself in the country – mainly because the military was behind Maduro.