CARACAS, Venezuela: Venezuela’s political opposition and its supporters rallied across the country on Saturday, demanding recognition of what they claim to be their candidate’s clear victory in the recent presidential election.
The electoral authority, widely viewed by the opposition as an extension of President Nicolas Maduro’s ruling party, declared that Maduro won a third term with just under 52% of the vote in the July 28 election.
However, the opposition, led by former lawmaker Maria Corina Machado, has published 83% of the voting machine tallies online, which they say show their candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, winning with 67% support. The disputed results have plunged the economically struggling nation into a political crisis, with protests leading to over 2,400 arrests and at least 23 deaths due to clashes.
Despite various international proposals to resolve the crisis, including suggestions for a new election, both the ruling party and the opposition have rejected most of these options. In Caracas, thousands of opposition supporters gathered, where Machado called for independent international verification of the election results, urging her followers to continue protesting. Across the nation, Venezuelans expressed their frustrations, with many, like 21-year-old Jesus Aguilar, seeing no future under the current government.
