PNN – In a statement, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of rigging the country’s presidential elections and claimed the victory of his opponent, Edmundo Gonzalez.
According to Pakistan News Network’s Friday morning report, citing Fox News, the US Secretary of State questioned Maduro’s victory in the Venezuelan elections and said: According to the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States, and most importantly to the people of Venezuela, that González won the most votes in the country’s July 28 presidential election.
Claiming that the main candidate of the Venezuelan opposition won 80% of the votes, Blinken added: Now is the time for the Venezuelan government and opposition to start a dialogue about a respectful and peaceful transfer of power in accordance with the electoral law of this country and the wishes of the Venezuelan people.
According to Fox News, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico have asked the Venezuelan authorities to release the data of the polling stations to confirm the victory of Nicolás Maduro in the presidential elections of this country.
Brian Nichols, the US Deputy Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, asked the President of Venezuela and foreign governments to declare Gonzalez the winner of the presidential election in this Latin American country.
Nichols claimed at the meeting of the Organization of American States yesterday that the Venezuelan Electoral Council has not yet published the details of the presidential election results, either because it does not want to show Gonzalez’s victory or because it needs time to manipulate the results.
Venezuela’s presidential election council has declared Maduro the winner of Sunday’s election.
The alleged victory of the opponents of the Venezuelan government against the announcement of the official victory of Nicolás Maduro has led to street protests and clashes with police forces and diplomatic tensions in this country.
Venezuela also announced that in response to the “interventionist actions” of seven Latin American countries, it will withdraw its diplomats from these countries.
This diplomatic tension arose after Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay called for a complete review of the election results with the presence of independent election observers in a joint statement.
The turnout in Venezuela’s Sunday election was 59 percent, and based on the counting of 80 percent of the votes, Nicolás Maduro won 51.2 percent of the vote, and his rival Edmundo González, the candidate of the main opposition coalition, came in second with 44.2 percent of the vote.
Maduro defended his victory, and the opposition, led by Maria Corina Machado, rejected the result, claiming González won 73.2 percent of the vote.