Venezuela top court confirms Maduro's disputed reelection

CARACAS - Venezuela's Supreme Court, which observers say is loyal to the government of President Nicolas Maduro, on Thursday declared him the winner of the disputed 28 July election despite opposition claims of widespread vote fraud.

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

Minutes later, opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia responded to the ruling by posting an image to social media saying "void."

"The sovereignty of the people is not transferable," he said, accusing the court in a later video message of attempting to "please" Maduro.

Speaking in the coastal state of La Guaira, Maduro hailed the Supreme Court's decision as "historic and forceful."

Maduro had asked the court earlier this month to weigh in on the election, in which he claims to have defeated Gonzalez Urrutia with 52% of ballots cast, according to the CNE.

The CNE did not provide a precinct-level breakdown of its results, saying it had been the victim of a cyber attack. The Supreme Court on Thursday said there was "evidence of a massive cyber attack against the electoral system."

Observers say the supposed hack is an excuse to not provide vote results.

The opposition's tally of polling station-level results -- which it has published online -- showed Gonzalez Urrutia, 74, had won more than two-thirds of votes. Maduro's party says the material is "forged."

"To the court's judges: no decision will replace the will of the people. The country and the world know about your bias and, as a result, your inability to resolve this conflict," Gonzalez Urrutia said in a post earlier Thursday.

"Your ruling will only make the crisis worse."

Rodriguez said earlier this month that the high court's ruling would be "final."

'LACK OF INDEPENDENCE'

On Thursday, the UN Human Rights Council questioned the impartiality of the court in a social media 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 including through direct messages to judges and public statements from President Nicolas Maduro and Diosdado Cabello," said panel chair Marta Valinas, referring to a lawmaker who is a key ally of the president.

Juanita Goebertus, Americas division director at Human Rights Watch, also denounced the decision.

"The recent decision of the [Supreme Court] is nothing more than a crude attempt to judicially cover up electoral fraud," she posted on social media.

Chile's President Gabriel Boric on Thursday called the decision a "consolidation of fraud."

"There is no doubt that we are facing a dictatorship that falsifies elections, represses those who think differently and is indifferent to the largest expatriate community in the world only comparable to that of Syria as a result of a war," he said in a social media post.

Chile hosts one of the largest communities of Venezuelan migrants in Latin America, with about 532,000 residents there, according to UN estimates that Maduro's government rejects.

Boric's government was one of many in the region critical of Maduro's election victory claim, a position that saw Caracas cut diplomatic ties with eight Latin American countries in late July.

On Thursday, the presidents of Uruguay and Guatemala also criticized the Supreme Court's decision.

Maduro's government has rejected international criticism, and on Thursday Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil called for "respect and non-interference in internal affairs."

GOVERNMENT CRACKDOWN

The number of people killed in post-election violence has risen to 27, Venezuela's attorney general announced Thursday. More than 190 people have been injured and 2,400 arrested in election-related protests.

Venezuela's parliament, controlled by members loyal to Nicolas Maduro, on Tuesday delayed debate on a law against "fascism" seen by detractors as a means of cracking down on political opponents.

On Thursday, hundreds of government supporters marched in Caracas "against fascism."

"A fascist cannot be a candidate for any elected office," said the powerful head of the legislature, Jorge Rodriguez, who also proposed a reform to the country's law on political parties.

"If they want to enter the democratic game the first thing they have to do is to abide by this sentence."