The Venezuelan opposition leader, María Corina Machado, stated on July 29, 2024, at a press conference that she holds 73.20% of the voting tally sheets delivered at polling places to the opposition poll watchers as proof of Edmundo González’s electoral victory over President Nicolás Maduro. (By midday on July 30, she reported that they had gathered more than 84%).

Machado claimed that the opposition candidate’s triumph was backed by 6.27 million votes, while Maduro only obtained 2.75 million (on the first 73.20% of the records). In María Corina Machado’s words, although the figures correspond to less than the total number of precinct results, they are sufficient to demonstrate the victory of the former diplomat.

The former deputy of the National Assembly of Venezuela also announced the existence of a portal that lists the records held by the opposition. Through the digital tool, citizens can verify the results of each voting table.

Machado’s statements come amid growing street protests, where demonstrators have torn down statues of Hugo Chávez. Meanwhile, Caracas woke up on July 30, 2024, with partially paralyzed transportation services and reports of increased state repression and violence.

As of the writing of this note, at least two people have lost their lives as a result of military repression, according to El País newspaper; although other sources place the number between seven and 11 deaths. The Penal Forum confirmed in a press conference that there are 11 deceased individuals, two of whom are minors.

Arrests are also part of the escalating repression by government forces. Tarek William Saab, the Venezuelan Attorney General, confirmed the arrest of 749 people on Monday, July 29, 2024. Among the most recent complaints are the disappearance of former deputy and coordinator of Voluntad Popular, Freddy Superlano; Rafael Sivira, coordinator of Causa R; and activist and political leader, Nelson Merino.

The popular protest is joined by the demand for clarity and transparency from a wide sector of the international community, including, among others, the governments of Costa Rica, Chile, Argentina, the United States, Brazil, France, Panama, and the Dominican Republic, who have called for the publication of detailed results by the National Electoral Council (CNE). Antonio Guterres, Secretary of the United Nations, also joined the call for precise disclosure of the records.

The Department for Electoral Cooperation and Observation of the Organization of American States (OAS) issued a report highlighting the opacity of the CNE and its resistance to both national and international observation. The document points out irregularities in the process such as “extreme inequity in the contest, intimidation and political persecution, suppression of candidacies, attacks on the press and the right to information, delays in the opening of polling centers and in the dissemination of results, [and] reluctance to allow opposition forces’ witnesses into polling stations or to provide them with copies of the tally sheets.”

The OAS text alludes to “the contradiction between the announced percentages and the citizen verification exercises made public at the conclusion of the count.” It concludes that there are no indications that allow for the democratic recognition of the presidential elections in the South American nation.

In response to pressure from other countries, the Miraflores Palace responded by expelling diplomats from seven countries.

Regarding the government fraud demonstrated by the Democratic Unitary Platform, Venezuelan economist and intellectual Ricardo Haussmann expressed on the social network X: “The problem is no longer making the regime recognize the result. The problem is that the executive branch, the high military command, the national electoral council, and the attorney general conspired to disregard the popular will, and that constitutes an attempted coup d’état.”

Maduro justified the lack of detailed results due to a “hacking” of the CNE, which he described as “a massive attack on the transmission system.” He also accused the opposition of destabilizing the country and attempting a “fascist and counter-revolutionary” coup d’état.

The opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez said in Caracas on July 30, 2024 —during the citizen assembly they called in the country— that “the mobilization continues,” in a “civic, peaceful, organized, and strong” manner until the “legitimate electoral result” is “achieved.”

This article was translated into English from the original in Spanish.