Caracas: Venezuela's Supreme Court on Thursday backed President Nicolas Maduro's victory in the elections held last month after widespread protests and opposition from Western countries, saying the voting tallies published by the opposition showing he had lost by a landslide margin were forged. Notably, the court is packed with Maduro loyalists and has almost never ruled against the government.
The Venezuelan court ratified Maduro's election win, sealing institutional backing for the ruling party as the disputed contest fades from international headlines. The supreme tribunal has reviewed material from the electoral authority and agrees that Maduro won the election, court president Caryslia Rodriguez said, adding the decision cannot be appealed.
The dispute over the presidential election results has sparked protests in Venezuela. Venezuela's electoral council proclaimed Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, the winner of the July 28 election with 51 per cent of the vote, despite an overwhelming number of exit polls predicting the victory of Edmundo Gonzalez. The opposition says its tally of 90 per cent of the votes shows that Gonzalez received more than double the support of the incumbent president.
At least 23 protesters have been killed at anti-government demonstrations since the election, and some 2,400 arrested, according to the United Nations. Maduro called the demonstrators are extremists and fascists. Many Western countries have urged full publication of the results, while Russia, China and others have congratulated Maduro on his victory.
What did the Supreme Court say?
"The results of the presidential election of July 28 released by the national electoral council, where Nicolas Maduro was elected president of the republic, are validated," said Rodriguez in her verdict. Notably, the opposition has published online what it says are 83 per cent of voting machine tallies, which give its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez a hearty 67 per cent support.
A copy of the court's decision will be shared with the attorney general, Rodriguez said, so it can be included in criminal investigations being carried out into supposed irregularities connected to publication of "presumably false" election results online. The ratification gives Maduro, who took office in 2013, another six-year term, set to begin in January.
Responding to the Supreme Court verdict, the opposition said it has no constitutional right to carry out any electoral functions, making its ruling null and void. "Sovereignty rests with the people and is intransferable. Organs of state emanate from and are subject to popular sovereignty," Gonzalez said in a social media post after the ruling.
'Crackdown on dissent'
Since the vote and deadly anti-government protests which followed, Maduro's administration has conducted what the opposition, human rights groups and unions have characterised as a crackdown on dissent. The actions have included arrests of opposition figures and protesters, an investigation into opposition leaders for allegedly inciting the military to commit crimes, the passage of a law tightening rules on NGOs, and forced resignations of state employees allegedly espousing pro-opposition views.
Both Gonzalez and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado are being investigated for several crimes, including allegedly inciting members of the military to commit crimes, after they called on security forces to uphold election results. Gonzalez did not attend the summons. Rodriguez said the opposition's failure to hand over its copies and Gonzalez's non-appearance are "blatant disrespect" and exposes him to sanctions.
Earlier this month, the US officially recognised Gonzalez as the winner of the recent disputed presidential election, rejecting Maduro's claim of victory. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there was "overwhelming evidence" to support Gonzalez's victory and rejected Maduro's allegations against opposition leaders.
(with inputs from Reuters)
