Venezuela's top court backs Maduro's disputed election win

Venezuela's Supreme Court has confirmed President Nicolas Maduro's victory in last month's presidential elections even though the opposition has cried foul play in the elections.

The Supreme Court, which has a record of never ruling against the government, said voting figures showing Maduro had lost by a landslide in the July election were forged.

In its ruling, the court said it had "indisputably certified election material and validates the results of the July 28, 2024, presidential election issued by the National Electoral Council (CNE)," naming Maduro as the winner.

Later on Friday, Attorney General Tarek Saab announced that opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, Maduro's election contender, had been summoned to testify on his role in publishing election data after the vote.

What is the controversy?

Maduro, who was seeking a third term of six years, claims he has defeated opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia by more than 1 million votes. But the main opposition has accused Maduro of vote rigging.

Gonzalez Urrutia uploaded an image to social media saying "void" after the court announced its ruling.

"The sovereignty of the people is not transferable," he said.

The court's ruling is the latest attempt made by Maduro to pacify the protests and neutralize the international criticism he has been receiving since Venezuela's opposition called out the voter fraud.

UN questions court's position

The impartiality of the court was questioned by the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday in an online post.

"We warn about the lack of independence and impartiality of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) and of the National Electoral Council (CNE) which have played a role in the state's repressive machinery," the post quoted a UN fact-finding panel as saying.

"The Government exerted undue influence over TSJ decisions," said panel chair Marta Valinas.

The court's certification of Maduro's win contradicts the findings of experts from the United Nations and the Carter Center who were invited to observe the election.

How have Venezuela's neighbors reacted?

The US and 10 Latin American countries have rejected the court's decision in a joint statement on Friday.

The governments of Argentina, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, the United States, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic and Uruguay said the court's ruling was invalidated by a "lack of independence and impartiality."

Separately, the US State Department said the court's ratification of Maduro's election victory "lacks all credibility" amid "overwhelming evidence" that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez received the most votes.

"The publicly available and independently verified precinct-level tally sheets show Venezuelan voters chose Edmundo Gonzalez as their future leader," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Mexico said it will wait for Caracas to publish local vote tallies from the election before recognizing a winner.

When asked about the lag in releasing the tallies, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he respects the decisions other countries take.

Opposition leader grilled by AG, observers see blatant intimidation

On Friday, Attorney General Tarek Saab, a Maduro ally, announced that opposition leader Gonzalez Urrutia had been summoned to testify in connection to his claims of being the rightful winner of the election and whether or not he was behind the publication of election data.

"In the coming hours the citizen Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia will be cited by this Public Ministry on the basis of the ongoing investigation, so he can give testimony about his responsibility, where he declares himself responsible for the webpage which is usurping... the virtue and the jurisdiction that only corresponds to the electoral authorities," Saab told reporters at a Caracas  press conference.

The move is seen as the latest in a series of actions designed to intimidate those not toeing the Maduro line.

js,mfi/rmt,fb (AFP, AP)