Venezuela’s Pro-Maduro Supreme Court Certifies Claims He Won Presidential Election

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s Supreme Court has backed President Nicolas Maduro’s claims that he won last month’s presidential election and said voting tallies published online showing he lost by a landslide were forged.The ruling is the latest attempt by Maduro to blunt protests and international criticism that erupted after the contested July 28 vote

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CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s Supreme Court has backed President Nicolas Maduro’s claims that he won last month’s presidential election and said voting tallies published online showing he lost by a landslide were forged.

The ruling is the latest attempt by Maduro to blunt protests and international criticism that erupted after the contested July 28 vote in which the self-proclaimed socialist leader was seeking a third, six-year term.

The high court is packed with Maduro loyalists and has almost never ruled against the government.

Its decision, read Thursday in an event attended by senior officials and foreign diplomats, came in response a request by Maduro to review vote totals showing he had won by more than 1 million votes.

Supreme Court Judges, from left, Fanny Marquez, President Caryslia Rodriguez, and Inocencio Figueroa stand during a ceremony after the Court's audit of the disputed results of the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, on Thursday.
Supreme Court Judges, from left, Fanny Marquez, President Caryslia Rodriguez, and Inocencio Figueroa stand during a ceremony after the Court’s audit of the disputed results of the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, on Thursday.

via Associated Press

The main opposition coalition has accused Maduro of trying to steal the vote.

Thanks to a superb ground game on election day, opposition volunteers managed to collect copies of voting tallies from 80% of the 30,000 polling booths nationwide and which show opposition candidate Edmundo González won by a more than 2-to-1 margin. The official tally sheets printed by each voting machine carry a QR code that make it easy for anyone to verify the results and are almost impossible to replicate.

The high court’s ruling certifying the results contradicts the findings of experts from the United Nations and the Carter Center who were invited to observe the election and which both determined the results announced by authorities lacked credibility. Specifically, the outside experts noted that authorities didn’t release a breakdown of results by each of the 30,000 voting booths nationwide, as they have in almost every previous election.

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado greets her followers during a demonstration to protest the official results that declared President Nicolas Maduro as the winner of the July elections, in Caracas, Venezuela, on August 17.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado greets her followers during a demonstration to protest the official results that declared President Nicolas Maduro as the winner of the July elections, in Caracas, Venezuela, on August 17.

Anadolu via Getty Images

The government has claimed — without evidence — that a foreign cyberattack staged by hackers from North Macedonia delayed the vote counting on election night and publication of the disaggregated results.

González was the only one of 10 candidates who did not participate in the Supreme Court’s audit, a fact noted by the justices, who in their ruling accused him of trying to spread panic.

The former diplomat and his chief backer, opposition powerhouse Maria Corina Machado, went into hiding after the election as security forces arrested more than 2,000 people and cracked down on demonstrations that erupted spontaneously throughout the country protesting the results.

Numerous foreign governments, including the U.S. as well as several leftist allies of Maduro, have called on authorities to release the full breakdown of results.

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