Tensions rise in Venezuela after disputed election, more arrests expected

Shops and public transport across Venezuela were closed on Wednesday as tensions over a hotly contested presidential election and rumors of more opposition arrests and sporadic violence kept many people at home.

Socialist President Nicolas Maduro, who has ruled since 2013, was declared the winner of Sunday’s vote by the electoral council. But the opposition says about 90 percent of its votes show its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, received more than double the support Maduro attracted.

As the dispute entered its third day amid growing calls for more transparency, the government insisted it had not produced complete vote totals at the polling station level due to a system breach originating in North Macedonia for the extended delay, without providing any evidence that to support that above.

The US-based Carter Center, one of the few independent observers allowed to monitor the election, said in a statement late Tuesday that the election “cannot be considered democratic.” He said the process was skewed in Maduro’s favor and flawed throughout, describing the electoral authority’s failure to publish aggregate results as a “serious violation”.

In remarks broadcast on state television on Wednesday, Maduro said he rejected all threats, including the possibility of new US sanctions.

Maduro has pledged that his socialist party is ready to release all its voter lists and said he has asked the supreme court to force opposition parties to do the same.

Early Monday morning, Venezuela’s electoral authority — which the opposition accuses of being in Maduro’s pocket — announced he had won another term, garnering 51 percent of the vote, seven points ahead of Gonzalez.

patience is running out waiting for Venezuelan electoral authorities to come clean and release full details

But shortly thereafter, Venezuela’s main opposition alliance opened a website with detailed ballot-level vote counts covering tallies from the vast majority of the country’s 30,000 voting machines, including scans of the machines’ vote count printouts.

As of late Wednesday afternoon, the website showed Gonzalez with 67 percent of the vote to Maduro’s 30 percent, accounting for nearly 82 percent of polling station data.

Reuters was unable to verify the authenticity of each individual count. Independent exit polls, however, showed a similar margin of victory for Gonzalez.

Meanwhile, international pressure has mounted on the government to release full results, including from regional heavyweights the United States and Brazil.

At a meeting of the Washington-based Organization of American States, Brian Nichols, the top US diplomat for Latin America, said the reason Venezuela’s electoral authority failed to release full vote tallies was “obvious”.

Either officials don’t want to confirm Gonzalez’s lopsided victory, or they need more time to falsify the results, he argued.

“Everybody can see that it’s clear that Edmundo Gonzalez defeated Nicolas Maduro by millions of votes,” Nichols said, pleading with Maduro and other foreign governments to admit his defeat.

The dispute has led to deadly, widespread protests which Maduro and his allies in the military have denounced as a coup attempt. Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday it had received reports of 20 deaths in post-election protests.

Some Maduro allies, such as Congress leader Jorge Rodriguez, have said Gonzalez and top opposition leader Maria Corina Machado should be arrested for their roles in the anti-government protests, including in longtime strongholds of the ruling party.

“They killed my son”

The arrests of Gonzalez or Machado would mark a major escalation, following the arrests of two other opposition leaders this week, including Popular Voluntad party leader Freddy Superlano. His arrest was captured on video which showed him being shoved into the back of an unmarked car surrounded by armed security agents.

Reuters witnesses in several cities have seen clashes between security forces and opposition protesters, as well as attacks on demonstrators by motorcycle riders allied with the ruling party.

“I am notifying the world of a harsh and repressive escalation by the regime,” Machado wrote in X on Wednesday.

The popular former lawmaker was barred by a government-allied court from running for president, but managed to rally support behind Gonzalez, a retired diplomat, at mass rallies ahead of the vote.

Two opposition sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the opposition is focused on pressuring the government to release all voter lists.

Although previous waves of anti-government protests over the past decade have led to international condemnation and hundreds of deaths, they have all failed to dislodge Maduro.

Many worried residents retreated to their homes as many shops on eerily quiet streets were closed. But new violent flashpoints appeared.

Late Tuesday, Luis Eduardo Roberto, 19, died in the city of Upata, capital of Bolivar state, following an opposition protest.

Cause of death was a bullet to the head, according to the death certificate. Witnesses, including the teenager’s father, Ricardo Roberto, said the motorcycle’s guards fired at him.

“I’m outraged,” he said. “They killed my son.”

Bolivar Governor Ángel Marcano, a Maduro ally, confirmed the death but blamed rock-throwing protesters.

In the capital Caracas some shops were open, although queues were long, and there was an increased military presence around the presidential palace.

Bus drivers in Maracay, about 75 miles (120 km) west of Caracas, did not work for fear of more violence.