Photo: Carlos Noriega Associated Press The opposition, which has so far held only one demonstration, on August 3, has called for large demonstrations throughout the country, but also in more than 300 cities abroad. Here we see a demonstration in Quito, Ecuador.
Patrick Fort – Agence France-Presse in Caracas
Published yesterday at 10:30 p.m.
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The Venezuelan opposition, which called for rallies across the country and abroad on Saturday to claim victory in the presidential election at the end of July, is urging Venezuelans to “continue the fight” against President Nicolas Maduro, who has been declared the winner, and whose supporters will also demonstrate.
“It is extremely dangerous, but here everyone must continue the fight and keep their strength,” said opposition leader Maria Corina Machado in an interview on social media on Friday.
“All that remains for the regime […] knowing that it is exposed” are “lies, repression, violence and demoralization. “Demoralization is the regime's strategy,” says the opponent who has been living in hiding for about two weeks.
The announcement of Mr. Maduro's re-election for a third term has sparked spontaneous demonstrations, with a toll of 25 dead, 192 injured and 2,400 arrests according to official sources.
The opposition, which has so far only organized one mobilization, on August 3, has called for large demonstrations throughout the country, but also in more than 300 cities abroad.
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During the protests in early August, Ms. Machado arrived by truck and then, at the end of the protest, jumped on a motorbike and quickly disappeared.
Saturday's protest is “very important. “It will be a historic day […] it is about uniting an entire country […] we have united a country and tomorrow is the time. There is no turning back and we will go all the way together,” she added, calling for families to attend the demonstrations.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000The government has planned a “Great National March for Peace and in Support of the Victory of Our President Nicolas Maduro” in the afternoon in Caracas.
The National Electoral Council (CNE) ratified Mr. Maduro’s victory with 52% of the vote in early August, without providing the exact count or the minutes of the polling stations, claiming to have been the victim of computer hacking.
“Authoritarian Leanings”
According to the opposition, which has made public the minutes obtained through its scrutineers, its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who had replaced Ms. Machado who was declared ineligible, won the presidential election with 67% of the vote, a result rejected by Mr. Maduro.
The opposition and many observers do not believe in the hacking theory, considering it a fabrication to avoid having to disclose the exact vote count.
A large part of the international community was also skeptical after the CNE announced the official results.
The European Union, as an organization, and 22 countries including Argentina, Canada and Spain, called on Friday in a joint statement read in Santo Domingo during the inauguration of Dominican President Luis Abinader, “the immediate publication of all original minutes and the independent and impartial verification of these results, preferably by an international entity, in order to guarantee respect for the will of the Venezuelan people.” ».
Most of these countries had already spoken out in a similar manner on the subject.
The Permanent Council of the Organization of American States approved a resolution on Friday also asking Caracas to “promptly publish the minutes with the results of the election vote from each polling station.”
In Brazil, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also called for the “minutes”: “What I am asking for in order to recognize [the winner], is at least to know if the numbers are true. Where are the minutes ? ».
He said on Friday that Mr Maduro’s government had an “authoritarian bent” even though he did not consider it a “dictatorship”.
Lula also returned to his proposal to hold new elections: “The opposition did not like the idea […] Maduro did not like it either”.
President Maduro, for his part, once again brushed aside criticism from abroad: “We do not accept imposition, interventionism, or anyone putting their dirty hands in our beloved country.”
He then quipped: “We are preparing the delegation of election observers for the November 5 elections in the United States. A commission of Venezuelan experts is going there and we will verify office by office!”