SAN LUIS POTOSÍ, Mexico.- Venezuela’s Supreme Court (TSJ) backed Nicolás Maduro’s claims that he won the July 28 presidential election and said the voting records The online reports showing he lost by a landslide were false.
Caryslia Rodriguezpresident of the TSJ, stated that, after the presentation of the actors involved in the electoral process and the compilation of the voting instruments, the magistrates certified the Chavista victory in an “unobjectionable” manner.
The TSJ ruling is the latest Maduro’s attempt to quell protests and international criticism that erupted after a disputed July 28 vote in which the self-proclaimed ruler was seeking a third six-year term.
He resultread on Thursday, August 22, at an event attended by senior foreign officials and diplomats, came in response to a request by Maduro to review the voting records that he claimed – without evidence – were “tarnished” by a foreign “cyberattack” organized by hackers from North Macedonia. Venezuela’s high court is made up of Maduro loyalists and has almost never ruled against the government.
In her appearance, the Chavista official said that all the results and voting records will remain in the custody of the TSJ.
He also stated that Edmundo González was the only one of the 10 candidates who did not participate in the Supreme Court audit, and considered that this constituted a violation of the law.
The main opposition coalition has accused Maduro of trying to steal the election. On election day, opposition volunteers managed to collect copies of vote counts from 80% of the 30,000 polling booths across the country, showing opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez won by more than double the margin.
The official tally sheets printed by each voting machine carry a QR code that makes it easy for anyone to verify the results and are nearly impossible to replicate.
The Supreme Court ruling certifying the results contradicts the conclusions of the United Nations and Carter Center experts who were invited to observe the elections and who determined that the results announced by the authorities lacked credibility.
Specifically, outside experts noted that authorities failed to publish a breakdown of results for each of the 30,000 voting booths across the country, as they have done in almost every previous election.
Numerous foreign governments, including the United States, as well as several of Maduro’s leftist allies, have called on authorities to make the records public.
