The United States has recognized Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia as the legitimate winner of the recent presidential election, contradicting the results announced by Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) that declared incumbent President Nicolás Maduro the winner. This development came after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s press statement, which praised Venezuelans for their participation while condemning the official results as “deeply flawed” (https://www.state.gov/assessing-the-results-of-venezuelas-presidential-election/).
Blinken detailed the alleged threats against González and opposition leader María Corina Machado, describing them as undemocratic actions aimed at repressing political participation. He emphasized the necessity of protecting the safety and security of democratic opposition leaders, and called for the immediate release of detained Venezuelans who peacefully exercised their electoral rights (https://www.jurist.org/news/2024/07/venezuela-president-and-opposition-claim-victory-in-presidential-election/).
This statement by Blinken follows his earlier expression of “serious concerns” over the announced election results, questioning whether they genuinely reflected the will of Venezuelan citizens. He urged for a fair and transparent vote count, aligning with calls from international bodies like The Carter Center and Human Rights Watch, who criticized the integrity of the election process (https://www.cartercenter.org/news/pr/2024/venezuela-072924.html). The Carter Center had urged CNE to publish the election results, and subsequently declared that the election did not meet international standards of electoral integrity (https://www.cartercenter.org/news/pr/2024/venezuela-073024.html).
The CNE’s announcement that Maduro secured 51.2 percent of votes has also drawn skepticism from the European Union. In response, EU high representative Josep Borrell called for full transparency and independent verification of all voting records (https://www.jurist.org/news/2024/07/eu-calls-for-verification-of-venezuela-elections-amid-protests/).