US Says Venezuela's Opposition Candidate Won Presidential Election

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Facts

  • The US Department of State said in a statement on Thursday that opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia won Venezuela's disputed presidential election, prompting a strong response from Caracas the next day.[1][2]
  • The declaration is reminiscent of the US recognition of former opposition leader and head of the National Assembly Juan Guaidó as the legitimate interim president of Venezuela in 2019, following the 2018 presidential election.[3][4]
  • This comes as the National Election Council (CNE) declared incumbent Nicolás Maduro as the winner with 51% of the vote, but the opposition claimed that results from 80% of the tallies indicated González had secured 67% of the vote.[5][6]
  • The CNE hasn't shared detailed information about the vote so far, with the delay blamed on a cyber attack that disrupted data transmission. Meanwhile, Maduro has requested the top court's electoral chamber to audit voting tallies in possession of presidential candidates.[7][8]
  • On Wednesday, the Organization of American States (OAS) failed by one vote to pass a resolution that would push Venezuela to be fully transparent about the results. Though refraining from voting on the matter, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico issued a joint statement on Thursday calling for the release of detailed voting tallies.[9][10]
  • In the latest development on Friday, the main opposition claimed that the headquarters of its leader, Maria Corina Machado, was raided following threats to arrest her. Another opposition figure, Freddy Superlano, was arrested on Tuesday and remains in custody.[11][12]

Sources: [1]US Department of State, [2]teleSURenglish (a), [3]Wall Street Journal, [4]RT International, [5]New York Post, [6]Al Jazeera, [7]BBC News, [8]Venezuelanalysis, [9]Sputnik International, [10]Reuters, [11]Associated Press and [12]teleSURenglish (b).

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Washington Post. This mockery of an election has shown that all efforts to ensure a peaceful democratic transition for Venezuela were in vain because Maduro never really intended to carry out free and fair elections — let alone to leave power. The US has already recognized González as the rightful winner, so now the rest of the world's democracies must follow suit.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by CounterPunch. Available results are statistically irreversible and have already been audited 16 times, so it's clear that the US is pushing for a coup in Venezuela. Declaring González the winner only shows its willingness to justify armed action to topple President-elect Nicolás Maduro and appoint a puppet to run the oil-rich country in disregard of the will of Venezuelans.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Ultimas Noticias. Available results are statistically irreversible and have already been audited 16 times, so it's clear that the US is pushing for a coup in Venezuela. Declaring González the winner only shows its willingness to justify armed action to topple President-elect Nicolás Maduro and appoint a puppet to run the oil-rich country in disregard of the will of Venezuelans.

Predictions