Opposition candidate to Nicolás Maduro for the presidency of Venezuela Edmundo González did not attend the hearing of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) held on the afternoon of this Friday (2). ten candidates for the country’s presidential election were called to appear in court to begin the verification of the investigation about the result of Sunday’s vote (28).
After the hearing, reelected President Nicolás Maduro questioned the absence of González, whom he called the candidate of fascism. “You haven’t shown up, what are you planning, more violence? Why are you hiding? If you didn’t respect the CNE [Conselho Nacional Eleitoral] to sign an agreement to recognize the result, if you do not respect the highest court of the Republic, what are the next steps?”, asked Maduro.
The presidential candidates signed and committed to abide by the decision of the Electoral Chamber of the Venezuelan Supreme Court, which will investigate the minutes and determine who won the election. The only one present who did not sign was Enrique Márquez, who claimed he did not know the reason for the summons.
According to Maduro, nothing and no one will disturb the peace in Venezuela. “We are prepared to deliver all legal demands, 100% of the minutes and everything that is required to be reviewed by the Supreme Court of Justice, as provided for in the Constitution,” said the president, showing a copy of the country’s Constitution.
On Friday afternoon, the National Electoral Council presented the second bulletin of Sunday’s electionwith 96.87% of the votes counted. According to the bulletin, current president Nicolás Maduro had 51.95% of the votes against 43.18% for the opposition candidate, Edmundo González. The other candidates had 4.86% of the voters’ preference and 0.41% had cast a blank vote.
The opposition has contested the result and published alleged election records on a website that would show Gonzáles’ victory.
