By The newspaper
29 Jul 2024, 01:49 AM EDT
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanded that Venezuelan electoral authorities publish detailed votes and a fair and transparent count of the elections on Sunday, July 28, in order to guarantee transparency, after the National Electoral Council announced Nicolás Maduro as the winner of the elections.
In a statement, AFP said Blinken called for a transparent vote count in Venezuela’s presidential election, the result of which was announced by the president of the National Electoral Council.
More than 5 million voted for Maduro
After 80% of the ballot boxes were counted, with 51.2% being 5,150,092 votes, Nicolás Maduro was declared the winner.
“The United States applauds the Venezuelan people for their participation in the July 28 presidential election despite significant challenges and deep concerns about the process,” Blinken said in a statement.
Reuters then added: “Now that voting has concluded, it is vitally important that every vote is counted fairly and transparently.” The announcement is in order to ensure transparency in the elections.
Elvis Amoroso, from the CNE, reported that the opposition candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, reached 44.2%, or 4,445,978 of the votes up to the time of the announcement.
Electoral fraud denounced
Opposition leader and exile Leopoldo López was quick to speak out after the CNE announcement. On his social media, he denounced what he called a “fraud” and questioned the validity of the results.
“CNE announces fraud and all of Venezuela knows it. This fraud is not sustainable,” López wrote.
Argentine President Javier Milei was quick to call Maduro a “dictator” and demand his removal from power.
Milei argued that the official results contradict previous polls and described the situation in Venezuela as a “communist dictatorship.”
“We want to tell you that Venezuela has a new president-elect, Edmundo González Urrutia. We won and everyone knows it,” said opposition leader María Corina Machado in a message from her campaign headquarters alongside the candidate.
“The results are undeniable. The country chose a peaceful change,” wrote Edmundo González on social media after the results were made public.
Keep reading:
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