Gonzalez Recognized as Venezuela’s Election Winner by the US
On Thursday, the United States recognized Edmundo Gonzalez, as the legitimate winner of Venezuela’s disputed presidential election. This came by rejecting President Nicolas Maduro‘s claim of victory. Gonzalez was the opposition candidate.
“Given the evidence, it is clear to the United States Gonzalez won the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election. ” said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. This announcement from Washington praised Gonzalez for his campaign. Also marking the closest the US has come to officially recognizing him as the OPEC nation’s new leader since the election. The controversy over the election results has sparked widespread protests in Venezuela.
Venezuela’s electoral council declared Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, the winner of the July 28 election with 51% of the vote.
However, the opposition claims their count of about 90% of the votes shows Gonzalez received more than double the support of the incumbent president. It comes in consistent with independent pre-election polling. The opposition has published detailed vote counts on a public website. The government has not provided any information beyond the national totals for each candidate. Blinken’s statement on Thursday did not threaten new sanctions on Venezuela but hinted at possible “punitive action.”
“We fully support the process of re-establishing democratic norms in Venezuela. We are also ready to consider ways to bolster it jointly with our international partners,” Blinken said. He also stressed the importance of protecting opposition leaders.
“Law enforcement and security forces should not become tools of political violence against citizens exercising their democratic rights,” he stated.
Also Read: Maduro says ready to release all Venezuela vote tallies.
