In Venezuela, the opposition rejects the sentence // Presidents of Chile and Uruguay call dictatorship to the Chavista government
Afp, Ap, Europa Press, Xinhua and Sputnik
The newspaper La Jornada
Friday, August 23, 2024, p. 23
Caracas. The Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) of Venezuela yesterday certified the victory of President Nicolás Maduro in the elections of July 28, in what the president described as a triumph historic and forcefulwhile the opposition, led by María Corina Machado, considered null the ruling, and reiterated, without evidence, that his candidate Edmundo González won the contest.
Today, the Supreme Court of Justice in its electoral chamber, after carrying out technical, scientific, professional and legal work, based on the laws as the Judicial Branch of the nation, issues a historic and forceful ruling. And we say: Holy word, let there be peace!Maduro told a crowd in the state of La Guaira.
The TSJ stated: We can conclude that the bulletins issued by the National Electoral Council (CNE) are supported by the minutes of the scrutiny issued by each of the voting machines..
The electoral chamber of the Court carried out, at Maduro’s request, an expert appraisal of the results and the review of any complaint of irregularities, including that of a cyber attack which the CNE accused on the same day of the vote.
Maduro was declared the winner by the electoral referee, although he has not published the minutes with the results, as demanded by the opposition, the United States and other countries.
The CNE reported after the elections that the president obtained 6.4 million votes and Gonzalez 5.3 million. The opposition claims that the records of more than 80 percent of electronic voting machines throughout the country show that Gonzalez emerged victorious.
The court announced that it will urgently send a copy of the ruling, which is not subject to appeal, to the Attorney General’s Office so that it can be incorporated into the investigation it is conducting to determine the responsibilities of the case in view of the anxiety caused to the population.
Caryslia Rodríguez, president of the TSJ, said that the criminal action is by virtue of the allegedly false or forged documents on a website circulated by the opposition, where they published what they claim are the minutes showing González as the winner.
Rodriguez noted that Gonzalez was the only one of the 10 presidential candidates who did not attend the TSJ summons, conduct that carries the sanctions provided for in the law.
Attorney General Tarek William Saab announced that investigations into alleged electoral crimes committed by opposition members will move forward, and noted that the aim is to determine whether opposition groups have committed crimes such as usurpation of functions and conspiracy.
Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said the ruling closes the chapter of the electoral process, while Chavistas took to the streets to celebrate the verdict.
The Bolivarian National Armed Forces expressed their attachment absolutely and categorically to the TSJ ruling. The opposition gathered around Machado rejected the sentence, and called to continue defending the popular sovereignty.
The UN calls the country’s institutions biased
The United Nations (UN) mission in Venezuela declared that both the TSJ and the National Electoral Council lack independence and impartiality, while the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, offered to mediate if both parties request it.
The presidents of Chile, Gabriel Boric; of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou and of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, refused to recognize the fraud which declares Maduro the winner. Furthermore, Boric and Lacalle described dictatorship to the Bolivarian government.