Metro Manila, Philippines— The United States is recognizing Edmundo González, the rival of Venezuela’s longtime strongman, Nicolás Maduro, as winner of the recently held general elections in Venezuela.
US State Secretary Antony Blinken released a strong statement citing “overwhelming evidence” affirming González’ victory despite Maduro’s claims.
“Electoral data overwhelmingly demonstrate the will of the Venezuelan people: democratic opposition candidate [Edmundo González] won the most votes in Sunday’s election. Venezuelans have voted, and their votes must count,” said Blinken.
At least 12 million Venezuelans peacefully went to the polls on July 28.
“Unfortunately, the processing of those votes and the announcement of results by the Maduro-controlled National Electoral Council (CNE) were deeply flawed, yielding an announced outcome that does not represent the will of the Venezuelan people,” the US State Department said in a statement.
The US government added that CNE’s rapid declaration of Maduro as the winner of the presidential election came with no supporting evidence.
“The CNE still has not published disaggregated data or any of the vote tally sheets, despite repeated calls from Venezuelans and the international community to do so,” it added.
Washington explained that the democratic opposition has published more than 80 percent of the tally sheets received directly from polling stations throughout Venezuela.
“Those tally sheets indicate that Edmundo González Urrutia received the most votes in this election by an insurmountable margin. Independent observers have corroborated these facts, and this outcome was also supported by election day exit polls and quick counts,” it added.
“Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people that Edmundo González Urrutia won the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election,” it added.
