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President Nicolás Maduro told a Brazilian diplomat that he will publish data on Venezuela’s contested election amid protests, claims of a stolen vote and pressure for more transparency.
Celso Amorim, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s top foreign policy aide, told the Financial Times that Maduro assured him during a meeting that he would make voting returns from Sunday’s election available. “He said this would happen in a short period of time, from what I understood,” Amorim said.
The election aftermath has plunged oil-rich Venezuela into turmoil, with citizens taking to the streets to protest against what they regard as a blatant attempt to cheat and prolong their revolutionary socialist president’s 11-year rule for another six years.
The Organization of American States’ election observation experts said on Tuesday they could not recognise Maduro’s election victory, detailing what they described as a “co-ordinated strategy . . . to undermine the integrity of the electoral process”.
Maduro’s allies Russia, China, Iran and Cuba have congratulated him on his victory, which the government-controlled election authority, the CNE, said was achieved with 51.2 per cent against 44.2 per cent for the main opposition candidate, Edmundo González.
The opposition has challenged that, saying González won with 6.2mn votes against 2.7mn for Maduro. “We have no doubt that the [opposition] data matches everything we saw in exit polls, quick counts and the mood in the country,” said one diplomat in Caracas. “It is all completely congruent.”
The US, the EU and most Latin American governments have called on Maduro to publish detailed polling station data, which is collected automatically by Venezuela’s electronic voting system. The CNE has not so far given detailed information but on Monday handed Maduro an official certificate of victory.
Protests against Maduro swept across the country on Monday, and the government responded by deploying riot police. Clouds of tear gas were visible on the capital’s skyline rising from multiple points, but by the evening the situation was calm.
Many businesses stayed closed on Tuesday amid fears of violence and difficulties for employees to get to work. The opposition called on supporters to demonstrate peacefully between 11am and noon, while the government announced it would bring its militants on to the streets in the early afternoon.
At an opposition demonstration in the well-to-do Altamira neighbourhood, thousands of people chanted González’s name. Many wore white, the opposition colour, and some waved Venezuelan flags. One man shouted “Maduro out!” A few people banged pots and pans. On nearby backstreets, motorcyclists hooted their horns.
“It’s obvious that the government lost in every state,” said beer brewer Sandy Digman, who doubted that Maduro or the CNE would publish detailed results without “re-engineering” them. “They know they don’t have the numbers.”
“The government knows it has lost but that makes it dangerous,” said José Rengifo, who lives in the area. “They should be in jail so I think things will get dark. Venezuelans aren’t usually up for a fight, but this time is different.”
Maduro has accused his opponents of attempting a “coup d’état of a counter-revolutionary and fascist character”. Venezuela has expelled diplomats from seven Latin American nations and severed air links with Panama and the Dominican Republic. Opposition figure Freddy Superlano, a former lawmaker who campaigned with González, was arrested on Tuesday morning.
Amid speculation over the role Venezuela’s military might play, defence minister Vladimir Padrino declared “our absolute loyalty and unconditional support for citizen Nicolás Maduro Moros . . . who has been legitimately re-elected”.
Amorim, the Brazilian envoy, said that after meeting Maduro in Caracas, he met González as well. “The impression I have is that the opposition has [election] records and . . . the numbers will not match [with those of the government],” he added. “This is a very complex situation and will remain complex for a long time. The most important thing is peace.”
Maduro did not give a specific timeframe for releasing the data. “I came here because Lula sent me,” Amorim said. “I’m not from the UN, but I do think they have the intention to publish . . . I had the impression it would be something fairly soon, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, something like that. Let’s see what happens.”
Amorim sought to damp down speculation about his role as a possible mediator in Venezuela, saying he was departing the country later on Tuesday.
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