Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who claims to be the rightful winner of the country’s presidential election, on Wednesday defied a Supreme Court summons over the disputed results.
Election authorities declared President Nicolas Maduro the winner of the July 28 vote, prompting the opposition to cry foul and sparking protests last week, which left at least 24 people dead, according to rights groups.
Multiple countries, including the United States and several Latin American nations, have recognized Gonzalez Urrutia as the winner, and have called on Venezuela to publish election data.
Maduro, who has called for Gonzalez Urrutia and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado to be locked up, took the dispute to the Supreme Court to have his victory “validated.”
The 74-year-old Gonzalez Urrutia, who had been summoned to appear in court on Wednesday morning, said he doubted how impartial the procedure would be.
The president of the court, Caryslia Rodriguez, noted his “failure to comply with the summons.”
Poll Result a Mystery
Other representatives of the opposition coalition did appear, such as the governor of the state of Zulia, Manuel Rosales, who demanded the election authority “publish the final results.”
The opposition has launched a website with copies of 84 percent of ballots cast, showing an easy win for Gonzalez Urrutia. The government claims these are forged.
Top US diplomat Antony Blinken reaffirmed his assertion that Gonzalez Urrutia won the election during a phone call to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday.
The US-based Carter Center NGO, whose monitors observed the election, said it had confirmed Gonzalez Urrutia as the winner after analyzing available data from polling stations.
‘Nobody Here Is Backing Down’
The Supreme Court, which summoned all candidates, has said it would take at least 15 days to come to a decision.
Retired diplomat Gonzalez Urrutia was little known until he agreed to replace the hugely popular Machado as the opposition candidate at the last minute, after she was barred from running.
Machado has also been in hiding, saying she “fears” for her life, making only a brief appearance Saturday during a mass opposition protest.
He has announced more than 2,000 arrests since the election. Two soldiers have also been killed in protests.
Maduro has led the oil-rich country since 2013, presiding over a GDP drop of 80 percent that pushed more than seven million of once-wealthy Venezuela’s 30 million citizens to emigrate.
He is accused of locking up critics and harassing opponents in a climate of rising authoritarianism.
With AFP
