Brussels (The Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Approximately 200 to 250 protesters demonstrated in Brussels’ city centre against Venezuela’s controversial election results. Concerns have been increased over the legitimacy of the election.
Why are Brussels protesters opposing Venezuela’s election results?
About 250 people, mostly Venezuelans, assembled at Albertina Square, close to Central Station, to oppose incumbent President Nicolás Maduro being re-elected, a result the party disputed during the demonstration. They claimed that the opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzàlez Urrutia won.
What evidence do protesters cite for election fraud in Venezuela?
“The opposition was able to inspect about 83% of the electoral tickets,” an announcement from the protest organisers. “This indicated that Gonzàlez obtained more than 7 million votes, while Maduro had only 3.2 million to his name.”
What claims are being made about electoral fraud in Venezuela?
Venezuela’s presidential elections that carried place were highly anticipated by many in the polarised and economically troubled nation. The majority of Venezuelans desired a change of politics, mainly by unseating the authoritarian regime led by Maduro, which has ruled for a quarter century.
The United Socialist Party’s incumbent president was officially re-elected on Monday 29 July, with the Electoral Council ensuring he won against Venezuelan presidential candidate Gonzàlez (with Maduro garnering 51.9% of the vote compared to opposition leader Gonzàlez’s 43%).
However, troubles were soon raised about the democratic advancement of the election, with some pointing to “electoral fraud”. Countries including Peru, Argentina, Panama, Costa Rica and Ecuador have since noted they consider Gonzàlez to be the legitimate president. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken argued there was “irrefutable evidence” that Gonzàlez succeeded in the election, a view also held by the European Union.
The Brussels protesters expressed during the demonstration that they persist in backing Gonzàlez, condemning the “attempted fraud” by the Venezuelan regime to preserve its power. Furthermore, they discussed the elections took place “without any form of international observation”, violating all valid electoral laws.
In Venezuela, public discontent led to widespread protests in recent days, resulting in the demise of several protesters and more than 1,200 people reportedly being arbitrarily imprisoned. The protesters in Brussels also criticised the way protests are being suppressed in Venezuela. Re-elected president Maduro, on the other hand, attributes the turmoil to “criminal violence”, instigated by the opposition, blaming it essentially of a “coup led by the US and extreme international right”.
