The US Secretary of State has stated there is “overwhelming evidence” that Venezuela’s opposition won the recent presidential election.
In a statement, Antony Blinken said it was clear that Edmundo González had received the most votes, despite incumbent President Nicolás Maduro declaring a disputed victory.
“Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people that Edmundo González Urrutia won the most votes in Venezuela’s 28 July presidential election,” Mr Blinken said.
His intervention comes as the presidents of Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia have all urged Venezuela to release the full details of last Sunday’s election.
The government-controlled electoral council announced that President Maduro had won the election for a third term.
However, the opposition immediately disputed this, claiming that with access to the majority of receipts from electronic voting machines across the country, the result was false.
The opposition stated that its own vote tally showed a clear victory for their candidate. Pre-election opinion polls had also suggested a decisive win for the challenger.
President Maduro has accused foreign governments of interfering in the election and has denied any electoral fraud, claiming that the opposition is attempting a coup by disputing the results.
The announcement of Maduro’s victory triggered deadly protests in Caracas and has drawn global criticism, with many governments demanding that the Venezuelan government provide proof of the result.
While the election result has been recognized by Venezuelan allies China, Russia, and Iran, the US, European Union, and other G7 countries have called on President Maduro’s government to release detailed voting data.
Posting on social media, Mr Blinken said: “Electoral data overwhelmingly demonstrate the will of the Venezuelan people: democratic opposition candidate Edmundo González won the most votes in Sunday’s election.
“Venezuelans have voted, and their votes must count.”
The intervention by Mr. Blinken is significant. After the 2018 election was widely dismissed as neither free nor fair, countries including the US recognized the then-opposition leader Juan Guaidó as interim president and imposed sanctions on Venezuela.
Mr. Blinken said it was “time for the Venezuelan parties to begin discussions on a respectful, peaceful transition in accordance with Venezuelan electoral law and the wishes of the Venezuelan people.”
Opposition leader María Corina Machado, currently in hiding, has called for mass demonstrations on Saturday.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Ms. Machado stated that Mr. Maduro did not win the election. She claimed her party’s candidate, Mr. González, won by a landslide, and she could prove this with receipts from more than 80% of polling stations.
Ms. Machado appealed for international support, saying it was now up to the global community to decide whether to tolerate what she called an illegitimate government.