Venezuelan Supreme Court summons candidates for vote verification

Venezuela’s Supreme Court of Justice has summoned presidential candidates to participate, this Friday (2), in an audit of the elections held on the 28th. In total, 10 politicians will be present at the meeting, including President Nicolás Maduro, and Edmundo González, the main opposition candidate.

The verification of the election result was requested by Maduro, after González and his campaign manager, Corina Machado, accused, without evidence, that the elections were fraudulent.

In the National Electoral Council (CNE) count, the current president has 52.21% of the votes, compared to González’s 44.2%.

The Supreme Court’s audit of the election results is being requested by Maduro. According to the president, the highest court in Venezuela is the only body in the country that has the power to audit the election results to verify the results obtained by the CNE.

With the Supreme Court’s decision, Edmundo González, the candidate chosen by the opposition coalition to challenge Maduro at the polls, is also expected to appear.

According to a statement from the Supreme Court, all candidates must submit their vote counts to the court. Maduro says his party has all the electoral records, which are at the center of the controversy. The opposition is conducting a parallel count of the records and claims that González won the election with 67% of the vote – compared to 30% for the president.

In a speech on Thursday (1st), Maduro confirmed his presence at the Supreme Court on Friday (2) and reiterated that his party will present the electoral records. “They (the opposition) should ask for the records. We have all the records. (…) I submitted myself to the Justice and I ask that the Justice find the truth so that peace can be established in the country”, said the president.

Maduro also once again accused Edmundo González and María Corina Machado of being behind the protests that took over the country against the election results.

Brazil, Colombia and Mexico call for institutional solution

The governments of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico released a joint statement on Thursday (1st) asking that the impasse surrounding the Venezuelan elections be resolved through institutional means. The statement also reinforced the position of the three countries that the data from last Sunday’s (28) elections be released by polling station.

“Disputes over the electoral process must be resolved through institutional means. The fundamental principle of popular sovereignty must be respected through the impartial verification of the results,” the text states.

The document was published after a telephone conversation this afternoon between the presidents of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; Colombia, Gustavo Petro; and Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

The governments of Latin American countries also stated that they continue to monitor the vote counting process “very closely.” “We call on the Venezuelan electoral authorities to move forward quickly and publicly disclose the data broken down by polling station,” they stated.

Mexico, Brazil and Colombia called on all political and social actors to exercise caution and contain their demonstrations and public events to avoid further violence. “Maintaining social peace and protecting human lives must be the priority concerns at this time,” they said.

The heads of state concluded the statement by saying that they have “absolute respect for the sovereign will of the Venezuelan people” and that they are willing to support “efforts for dialogue and the search for agreements that benefit the Venezuelan people.”