By Luis De Jesus
02 Aug 2024, 23:18 PM EDT
The Electoral Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela demanded this Friday that the National Electoral Council deliver the minutes of the scrutiny and final total of the presidential elections of July 28, as part of an investigation to “certify” the official result that declares President Nicolás Maduro the winner.
According to ruling 026, the CNE has a period of three days to provide these documents, in addition to the “award certificate and the proclamation certificate” of the elections, Efe points out.
The TSJ also asked the CNE for all the elements that would prove the alleged cyber attack against the electoral body’s computer system, which represented an “impediment to the timely transmission of the election results,” the ruling states.
Regarding the delivery time, the court stated that, “in light of the commitment to peace and democracy,” this body was authorized to “work from Monday to Sunday, both days inclusive, 24 hours a day.”
This Friday, the candidates, except for Edmundo González Urrutia, the standard-bearer of the majority opposition, attended a hearing convened by the TSJ, chaired by the Chavista Caryslia Rodríguez.
The judge urged “all the parties involved” to abide by the ruling that will be issued on the review of the results, within a period not yet determined.
He also explained that this hearing was in response to the appeal for constitutional protection filed by Maduro, by which the Electoral Chamber of the court undertakes to “investigate, verify and certify, in an unequivocal and unrestricted manner, the results of these elections.”
González Urrutia, who claims to have won the elections despite the CNE’s announcement, justified his absence from the TSJ by saying that he did not attend “in defense of the popular will expressed, in a forceful manner, on July 28, and to prevent that will from being ignored.”
With 96.87% of the votes transmitted counted, according to the balance sheet presented this Friday by the CNE, Maduro was re-elected with 51.95% of the votes, while González Urrutia obtained 43.18% of the votes.
However, the majority opposition, grouped in the Democratic Unitary Platform, published on a website 81% of the electoral records showing that its candidate won the elections by a wide margin, a result recognized by countries such as Argentina, the United States and Peru, among others.
Keep reading:
• Former presidential candidate refuses to sign document requiring compliance with Supreme Court decision in Venezuela
• María Corina and Edmundo González call for protest; Maduro says it is “an attack”
• Second bulletin of the presidential elections in Venezuela is published, but the minutes have not yet been shown