Thread: Venezuelan opposition says it has proof its candidate defeated President Maduro

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — As thousands of people demonstrated across Venezuela, opposition candidate Edmundo González on Monday announced that his campaign has the proof it needs to show he won the country’s disputed election whose victory electoral authorities handed to President Nicolás Maduro.


González and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado told reporters they have obtained more than 70% of tally sheets from Sunday’s election, and they show González with more than double Maduro’s votes. Both called on people, some of whom protested in the hours after Maduro was declared winner, to remain calm and invited them to gather peacefully at 11 a.m. Tuesday to celebrate the results.


“I speak to you with the calmness of the truth,” González said as dozens of supporters cheered outside campaign headquarters in the capital, Caracas. “We have in our hands the tally sheets that demonstrate our categorical and mathematically irreversible victory.”


Their announcement came after the National Electoral Council, which is loyal to Maduro’s ruling Unites Socialist Party of Venezuela, officially declared him the winner, handing him his third six-year term.


In the capital, the protests were mostly peaceful, but when dozens of riot gear-clad national police officers blocked the caravan, a brawl broke. Police used tear gas to disperse the protesters, some of whom threw stones and other objects at officers who had stationed themselves on a main avenue of an upper-class district.


A man fired a gun as the protesters moved through the city’s financial district. No one suffered a gunshot wound.


The demonstrations followed an election that was among the most peaceful in recent memory, reflecting hopes that Venezuela could avoid bloodshed and end 25 years of single-party rule. The winner was to take control of an economy recovering from collapse and a population desperate for change.


“We have never been moved by hatred. On the contrary, we have always been victims of the powerful,” Maduro said in a nationally televised ceremony. “An attempt is being made to impose a coup d’état in Venezuela again of a fascist and counterrevolutionary nature.”


“We already know this movie, and this time, there will be no kind of weakness,” he added, saying that Venezuela’s “law will be respected.”


Machado told reporters tally sheets show Maduro and Gonzalez received more than 2.7 million and roughly 6.2 million votes respectively.


“A free people is one that is respected, and we are going to fight for our freedom,” Gonzalez said. “Dear friends, I understand your indignation, but our response from the democratic sectors is of calmness and firmness.”


Venezuelans vote using electronic machines, which record votes and provide every voter a paper receipt that shows the candidate of their choice. Voters are supposed to deposit their receipt at ballot boxes before exiting the polls.


After polls close, each machine prints a tally sheet showing the candidates’ names and the votes they received.


But the ruling party wields tight control over the voting system, both through a loyal five-member electoral council and a network of longtime local party coordinators who get near unrestricted access to voting centers. Those coordinators, some of whom are responsible for handing out government benefits including subsidized food, have blocked representatives of opposition parties from entering voting centers as allowed by law to witness the voting process, vote counting and, crucially, to obtain a copy of the machines’ final tally sheet.


Electoral authorities had not yet released the tally sheets for each of the 30,000 voting machines as of Monday evening. The electoral body’s website was down, and it remained unclear when the tallies would be available. The lack of tallies prompted an independent group of electoral observers and the European Union to publicly urge the entity to release them.


In the capital’s impoverished Petare neighborhood, people started walking and shouting against Maduro, and some masked young people tore down campaign posters of him hung on lampposts. Heavily armed security forces were standing just a few blocks away from the protest.


“He has to go. One way or another,” said María Arráez, a 27-year-old hairdresser, as she joined in the demonstration.


As the crowd marched through a different neighborhood, it was cheered on by retirees and office workers who banged on pots and recorded the protest in a show of support. There were some shouts of “freedom” and expletives directed at Maduro.


Several foreign governments, including the U.S. and the EU, held off recognizing the election results.


After failing to oust Maduro during three rounds of demonstrations since 2014, the opposition put its faith in the ballot box.


The country sits atop the world’s largest oil reserves and once boasted Latin America’s most advanced economy. But after Maduro took the helm, it tumbled into a free fall marked by plummeting oil prices, widespread shortages of basic goods and hyperinflation of 130,000%.


U.S. oil sanctions sought to force Maduro from power after his 2018 reelection, which dozens of countries condemned as illegitimate. But the sanctions only accelerated the exodus of some 7.7 million Venezuelans who have fled their crisis-stricken nation.


Voters lined up as early as Saturday evening to cast ballots, boosting the opposition’s hopes it was about to break Maduro’s grip on power. The electoral council’s results came as a shock to many who had celebrated, online and outside a few voting centers, what they believed was a landslide victory for González.


Gabriel Boric, the leftist leader of Chile, called the results “difficult to believe,” while U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington had “serious concerns” that the announced tally did not reflect the actual votes or the will of the people.


In response to criticism from other governments, Maduro’s foreign affairs ministry announced it would recall its diplomatic personnel from seven countries in the Americas, including Panama, Argentina and Chile. Foreign Minister Yvan Gil asked the governments of those countries to do the same with their personnel in Venezuela.


He did not explain what would happen to the staff of Machado’s, including her campaign manager, who have sheltered for months in the Argentinian embassy in Caracas after authorities issued arrest warrants against them.


González was the unlikeliest of opposition standard bearers. The 74-year-old was unknown until he was tapped in April as a last-minute stand-in for opposition powerhouse Machado, who was blocked by the Maduro-controlled supreme court from running for any office for 15 years.


Authorities set Sunday’s election to coincide with what would have been the 70th birthday of former President Hugo Chávez, the revered leftist firebrand who died of cancer in 2013, leaving his Bolivarian revolution in the hands of Maduro. But Maduro and his United Socialist Party of Venezuela, which controls all branches of government, are more unpopular than ever among many voters who blame his policies for crushingly low wages that spurred hunger, crippled the oil industry and separated families due to migration.


The president’s pitch this election was one of economic security, which he tried to sell with stories of entrepreneurship and references to a stable currency exchange and lower inflation rates. The International Monetary Fund forecasts the economy will grow 4% this year — one of the fastest in Latin America — after shrinking 71% from 2012 to 2020.


But most Venezuelans have not seen any improvement in their quality of life. Many earn under $200 a month, which means families struggle to afford essential items. Some work second and third jobs. A basket of food staples to feed a family of four for a month costs an estimated $385.


The opposition managed to line up behind a single candidate after years of intraparty divisions and election boycotts that torpedoed their ambitions to topple the ruling party.


A former lawmaker, Machado swept the opposition’s October primary with over 90% of the vote. After she was blocked from joining the presidential race, she chose a college professor as her substitute on the ballot, but the National Electoral Council also barred her from registering. That’s when González, a political newcomer, was chosen.


González and Machado focused much of their campaigning on Venezuela’s vast hinterland, where the kind of economic activity seen in Caracas in recent years never materialized. They promised a government that would create sufficient jobs to attract Venezuelans living abroad to return home and reunite with their families.


Venezuela'''s electoral body declares President Maduro winner | AP News

It’s not the first time Madura has been involved in questionable votes…

When Maduro basically said "vote for me or starve" he lost the right to rule.

The streets of Caracas are heating up tonight.

^ Indeed they are.

Protesters clash with police in Caracas after election result

Six dead, over 700 detained in Venezuela election result protests

Pressure is mounting on the streets of Venezuela after at least six people were killed and more than 700 detained in the protests against President Nicolás Maduro's controversial re-election.


The non-governmental organization Foro Penal wrote on X on Tuesday that two young people were among the victims of the Monday protests that turned violent.



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According to the public prosecutor's office, one police officer was also killed.


Across the country, 749 demonstrators have been detained, Attorney General Tarek William Saab said.


Those arrested had attacked police stations, electoral offices, town halls and hospitals, he said. They are accused of terrorism, incitement to hatred and blocking public roads, he added.


The crisis-stricken country is facing a fresh wave of unrest after Maduro was officially declared the winner of Sunday's vote, securing the authoritarian left-wing leader a third six-year term in office.


The opposition has refused to recognize the official result and has made allegations of election fraud.


Fear of escalation growing


Thousands of people took to the streets in the capital Caracas to support opposition candidate Edmundo González on Tuesday.


"The only thing we are willing to negotiate is the peaceful transition," opposition leader María Corina Machado said, as protestors chanted "we have no fear."

The government camp also plans to bring its supporters to the streets. President Maduro said that there had been over 100 attacks after the election.


"We are dealing with a coup d'état instigated by the fascist forces of the extreme right with the support of the imperial forces, US imperialism," said Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino López. "We will thwart this coup d'état."


UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk expressed concern about the violence. "I am alarmed by reports of the disproportionate use of force by security forces and armed groups supporting the government," he said in a statement.


"I call on the government to respect the right of all Venezuelans to assemble, protest peacefully and express their opinions freely and without fear."


Opposition rejects official result


The National Electoral Council officially declared Maduro the winner of the presidential election with 51.2% of the vote, while González received 44.2%.

Machado said to media representatives on Monday that the government opponents had access to 73% of the result lists, which indicated an insurmountable lead for the challenger.


She said González had won in all states and received over 6.2 million votes, while Maduro received only 2.7 million.


Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, said that over 100 attacks have been recorded in the country since Sunday, blaming the United States and the opposition.


"This is a fascist, counter-revolutionary and criminal group," he added.


The US government and several Latin American countries have expressed doubts about the official election result.


US President Joe Biden and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called on Venezuela's government to release full, transparent and detailed voting data from the election.


"The two leaders shared the perspective that the Venezuelan election outcome represents a critical moment for democracy in the hemisphere, and they pledged to remain in close coordination on the issue," the White House said in a statement.


However, Maduro has received support from Latin American countries such as Cuba and Honduras, as well as political backing from China and Russia.


Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday decried the protests on Tuesday, saying: "Of course, it is very important that these attempts to aggravate the situation in Venezuela are not fuelled by third countries and that Venezuela remains free from external interference."


Maduro clings on as Venezuela suffers


Oil-rich Venezuela has suffered in recent years from mismanagement, corruption and international sanctions.


More than 80% of the population lives below the poverty line.


According to the UN, over 7 million people - about a quarter of the population - have left the oil-rich country in recent years due to poverty and violence.


The desperate situation has led to repeated protests against Maduro's rule, but he has been able to survive despite intense pressure to step down.


After the last contested elections in 2018, opposition leader Juan Guaidó declared himself the legitimate president of the country and was recognized by the United States and other Western countries, but Maduro was able to retain the support of powerful groups within Venezuela, including the military.


Following his latest controversial win, Maduro is set to begin his third six-year term in January 2025.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world...ts/ar-BB1qUEsD

Across Venezuela, statues of Hugo Chávez are being attacked over alleged stolen election

LA GUAIRA, Venezuela (AP) — Anti-government activists across Venezuela are toppling giant statues of Hugo Chávez to express their anger over the alleged stealing of an election by the late president’s handpicked successor, Nicolás Maduro.


In the seaside city of La Guaira, outside the capital Caracas, twisted rebar and chunks of concrete lie below a pedestal where a group of protesters Monday night ripped down one likeness of Chávez that was dedicated by Maduro in 2017.


A video provided to The Associated Press from one protester shows the moment when the 3.5 meter (12 feet) statue of the leader known as El Comandante was pulled down to raucous shouts of “this government is going to fall.” Once removed, the statue was dragged by motorcycles across the plaza, doused in gasoline and set on fire, the protester said.


“This is a powerful symbol to them,” said the protester, who asked not to be identified for fear she could be arrested. “Every time we tackle one of their symbols, we’re taking away some of their strength.”


This isn’t the first time monuments honoring the creator of the so-called Bolivarian Revolution have been attacked by angry mobs. The same phenomenon occurred during waves of anti-government unrest in 2017 and 2019.


But the simultaneous nature and high number of attacks — five in the last 24 hours — underscores the depth of anger many Venezuelans feel after the National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner in Sunday’s presidential election. The opposition says its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, more than doubled the incumbent’s vote count.


A plainclothes military intelligence officer stopped journalists trying to take photos of what remains of the destroyed statue in La Guaira. The officer, who didn’t identify himself, said the country is “at war” and that any effort to disrespect Chávez was offensive to millions of Venezuelans who revered the former army paratrooper and anti-imperialist icon.


Maduro said several people had been arrested in the attacks, which he likened to the images from revolutions pushed by the U.S. in post-Soviet states including Ukraine and Georgia.


“What do these people have in their head? In the heart?” Maduro asked in a televised address Monday night in which he broadcast images of some of the attacks. “Just imagine if they one day gain power here, what they would be capable of doing.”

Across Venezuela, statues of Hugo Chavez are being attacked over alleged stolen election | PBS News

Maduro has received support from Latin American countries such as Cuba and Honduras, as well as political backing from China and Russia.

There's a fucking surprise

U.S. recognizes opposition candidate Edmundo González as winner of Venezuelan presidential election

The U.S. government on Thursday recognized Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González as the winner of the South American country's presidential election, discrediting the results announced by electoral authorities who declared President Nicolás Maduro the victor.


"Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people that Edmundo González Urrutia won the most votes in Venezuela's July 28 presidential election," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.


The National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner of Sunday's highly anticipated election, but the president's main challenger, González, and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado have said they obtained more than two-thirds of the tally sheets that each electronic voting machine printed after polls closed.

They said the release of the data on those tallies would prove Maduro lost.


The announcement from the U.S. government came amid diplomatic efforts to persuade Maduro to release vote tallies from the election and increasing calls for an independent review of the results, according to officials from Brazil and México.


Government officials from Brazil, Colombia and Mexico have been in constant communication with Maduro's administration to convince him that he must show the vote tally sheets from Sunday's election and allow impartial verification, a Brazilian government official told The Associated Press Thursday.


The officials have told Venezuela's government that showing the data is the only way to dispel any doubt in the results, said the Brazilian official, who asked not be identified because they are not authorized to publicly speak about the diplomatic efforts.


A Mexican official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity for the same reason, confirmed that the three governments have been discussing the issue with Venezuela but did not provide details. Earlier, Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he planned to speak with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil and President Gustavo Petro of Colombia, and that his government believes it's important that the electoral tallies be made public.


Later Thursday, the governments of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico issued a joint statement calling on Venezuela's electoral authorities "to move forward expeditiously and publicly release" detailed voting data, but they did not confirm any backroom diplomatic efforts to persuade Maduro's government to publish the vote tallies.


"The fundamental principle of popular sovereignty must be respected through impartial verification of the results," they said in the statement.

They said the release of the data on those tallies would prove Maduro lost.


The announcement from the U.S. government came amid diplomatic efforts to persuade Maduro to release vote tallies from the election and increasing calls for an independent review of the results, according to officials from Brazil and México.


Government officials from Brazil, Colombia and Mexico have been in constant communication with Maduro's administration to convince him that he must show the vote tally sheets from Sunday's election and allow impartial verification, a Brazilian government official told The Associated Press Thursday.


The officials have told Venezuela's government that showing the data is the only way to dispel any doubt in the results, said the Brazilian official, who asked not be identified because they are not authorized to publicly speak about the diplomatic efforts.


A Mexican official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity for the same reason, confirmed that the three governments have been discussing the issue with Venezuela but did not provide details. Earlier, Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he planned to speak with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil and President Gustavo Petro of Colombia, and that his government believes it's important that the electoral tallies be made public.


Later Thursday, the governments of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico issued a joint statement calling on Venezuela's electoral authorities "to move forward expeditiously and publicly release" detailed voting data, but they did not confirm any backroom diplomatic efforts to persuade Maduro's government to publish the vote tallies.


"The fundamental principle of popular sovereignty must be respected through impartial verification of the results," they said in the statement.

Government repression over the years has pushed opposition leaders into exile. After the op-ed was published, Machado's team told the AP that she was "sheltering." Machado later posted a video on social media calling on supporters to gather Saturday morning across the country.


The González campaign had no comment on the op-ed.


On Wednesday, Maduro asked Venezuela's highest court to conduct an audit of the election, but that request drew almost immediate criticism from foreign observers who said the court is too close to the government to produce an independent review.


It wasn't clear if Maduro's first concession to demands for more transparency was the result of the discussions with Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. Venezuela's president confirmed during a news conference on Wednesday that he had spoken with Petro about it.




Venezuela's Supreme Tribunal of Justice is closely aligned with Maduro's government. The court's justices are proposed by federal officials and ratified by the National Assembly, which is dominated by Maduro sympathizers.


On Thursday, the court accepted Maduro's request for an audit and ordered him, González and the eight other candidates who participated in the presidential election to appear before the justices Friday.

González and Machado say they obtained more than two-thirds of the tally sheets printed from electronic voting machines after the polls closed. They said the release of the data on those tallies would prove Maduro lost.


Asked why electoral authorities have not released detailed vote counts, Maduro said the National Electoral Council has come under attack, including cyber-attacks, without elaborating.


The presidents of Colombia and Brazil — both close allies of the Venezuelan government — have urged Maduro to release detailed vote counts.


The Brazilian official said the diplomatic efforts are only intended to promote dialogue among Venezuelan stakeholders to negotiate a solution to the disputed election. The official said this would include the release of voting data and allowing independent verification.


López Obrador said Mexico hopes the will of Venezuela's people will be respected and that there's no violence. He added that Mexico expects "that the evidence, the electoral results records, be presented."

Pressure has been building on the president since the election.


The National Electoral Council, which is loyal to Maduro's United Socialist Party of Venezuela, has yet to release any results broken down by voting machine, as it did in past elections. It did, however, report that Maduro received 5.1 million votes, versus more than 4.4 million for González. But Machado, the opposition leader, has said vote tallies show González received roughly 6.2 million votes compared with 2.7 million for Maduro.


Venezuela has the world's largest proven crude reserves and once boasted Latin America's most advanced economy, but it entered into free fall after Maduro took the helm in 2013. Plummeting oil prices, widespread shortages and hyperinflation that soared past 130,000% led to social unrest and mass emigration.

U.S. recognizes opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez as winner of Venezuelan presidential election - CBS News

Sad to see that the protests are dying down as the police state takes control. Footage on Twitter shows civilians being shot in the streets.

The only good commie is a fucking dead commie. Fuck Maduro.

Originally Posted by bsnub

The only good commie is a fucking dead commie

Even the ones in a Kibbutz?

Originally Posted by pickel

Even the ones in a Kibbutz?

Israeli cnuts they will all burn in Hell their the scum of this world , fooking war criminals