Venezuelan opposition calls on army to side “with the people”

Photo: Yuri Cortez Agence France-Presse The unrest that followed this proclamation left eleven civilians dead.

Javier Tovar – Agence France-Presse and Patrick Fort – Agence France-Presse in Caracas

Published at 1:54 p.m. Updated at 9:23 p.m.

• Americas

The Venezuelan opposition, which claims victory in the presidential election of July 28, called on Monday the army, the pillar of power, to side “with the people” in the crisis opposing it to Nicolás Maduro, proclaimed winner by the National Electoral Council (CNE), immediately attracting criminal prosecution by the public prosecutor's office.

“We appeal to the conscience of the military and police to side with the people and their own families,” wrote opposition leader María Corina Machado and presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia in a joint statement.

Hoping to sway the army to their side, they promised “guarantees to those who fulfill their constitutional duty” while repeating that they had “irrefutable proof” of the victory of Mr. González Urrutia, who had replaced Ms. Machado as candidate at short notice, having been declared ineligible.

The Venezuelan prosecutor's office responded to the statement by opening a criminal investigation in the afternoon against the two leaders, including for “usurpation of functions, dissemination of false information, incitement to disobedience of the laws, incitement to insurrection, criminal association.”

Mr. González and Ms. Machado “announce a false winner of the presidential election […], openly incite police officers and the military to disobey,” according to the prosecutor's statement.

The unrest that followed the proclamation of the outgoing president's victory left 11 civilians dead, according to human rights organizations.

Mr. Maduro, for his part, announced the death of two members of the National Guard and the arrest of more than 2,000 people, promising to continue the repression against what he calls an attempted “imperialist coup d'état.”

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Two days after the election, the Minister of Defense, General Vladimir Padrino, reaffirmed on behalf of the army “our most absolute loyalty and our unconditional support for citizen Nicolás Maduro Moros […], our commander in chief legitimately re-elected by popular power”, specifying that the army will act “with force” to “preserve internal order”.

The CNE officially “submitted” the minutes of Mr. Maduro's re-election to the Supreme Court (TSJ) early Monday evening, after he had appealed to the high court to have his victory validated.

It is precisely these minutes – with the office-by-office count – that the opposition and part of the international community are demanding.

Claiming to be the victim of computer hacking, the electoral authority has still not publicly released the details of the office-by-office vote. The opposition believes that this is a maneuver to avoid revealing the real results.

The CNE ratified Mr. Maduro's victory on Friday with 52% of the vote. According to the opposition, which published its minutes – the validity of which is rejected by Mr. Maduro – Mr. González Urrutia won the election with 67% of the vote.

“On his knees” before Maduro

The CNE, like the Supreme Court, is considered to be at the beck and call of the government by the opposition, but also by most observers.

With this procedure, Mr. Maduro “implicitly admits that no one believes in the [CNE] proclamation, to the point that he is asking for another power to intervene to certify his victory,” emphasizes Perkins Rocha, an opposition lawyer. “Mr. Maduro knows that he can count on a TSJ on its knees before him.”

In the evening, Caryslia Beatriz Rodríguez, the president of the TSJ, acknowledged receipt of the minutes, indicating that the Court had “15 extendable days” to study them. She also summoned candidates and officials for hearings. Mr González Urrutia, who has not been seen publicly for about a week, was summoned on Wednesday and President Maduro on Friday.

French President Emmanuel Macron and his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, said Monday that they supported “the people’s desire for a transparent election.”

Washington “urged” both sides “to begin talks for a peaceful transition,” according to a statement from State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, calling for “transparency and the publication of detailed results.”

In response, the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said that with these remarks, “it is clear that the United States is leading the coup attempt and ignoring the democratic will of the Venezuelan people.”

On Monday – as they have done almost every day since the election – thousands of Maduro supporters parade in the center of Caracas to support him.

“It’s time to define: either you are for violence or for peace. Either for the fascists or for the homeland. Either for imperialism or for Venezuela,” Maduro said. At the rally, he also called for a boycott of the messaging app WhatsApp. “Say no to WhatsApp! […] Through WhatsApp, they threaten the Venezuelan military family, the police family, the street and community leaders.”