Opposition claims evidence of election fraud as protests in Venezuela spread

Venezuela's opposition claims it has evidence of fraud after authoritarian president Nicolás Maduro was declared the winner of the presidential election on Monday.

Opposition politician María Corina Machado told supporters at her party's campaign headquarters that it was beyond doubt that opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia won.

According to Machado, the vote tallies to which the opposition has access show that its candidate received 6.2 million votes, compared to only 2.8 million votes for Maduro. Machado said she will share those results online with all Venezuelans and called on citizens across the country to gather for marches on Tuesday morning.

The National Electoral Council officially declared Maduro the winner of Sunday's ballot. It would be the third six-year term in office for the 61-year-old authoritarian leader. According to the official results, Maduro secured 51.2 per cent of the vote, compared to 44.2 per cent for González Urrutia. The government is also planning pro-Maduro rallies.

Immediately after the election results were announced, thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets to demonstrate. The police fired tear gas at protesters. At least one person reportedly died in the protest.

The governments of several Latin American countries and the US, among others, also already expressed doubts about the course of events. In response, Venezuela withdrew its diplomatic staff from seven Latin American countries.

^{Demonstrators during a protest against Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro's government on 29 July 2024, a day after the presidential election © PHOTO JUAN CARLOS HERNANDEZ / AFP}