González fails to attend hearing on Venezuela elections

Opposition candidate to Nicolás Maduro for the presidency of Venezuela Edmundo González did not appear at the hearing of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) held on the afternoon of this Friday (2). González has reiterated, without presenting evidence, that he won the elections last Sunday (28).

Venezuela’s Supreme Court of Justice has summoned presidential candidates to participate in an audit of the elections. In total, 10 politicians have been invited to participate in the meeting, including President Nicolás Maduro and Edmundo González, the main opposition candidate for the Unitary Platform.

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 released the second report from Sunday’s election, with 96.87% of the votes counted. According to the report, 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 blank votes.

with Agência Brasil*