The US has found no evidence that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro received the most votes in last month’s presidential election and the Biden administration will recognize opposition candidate Edmundo González as the winner, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Thursday.
Blinken, 62, ripped the Maduro-controlled National Electoral Council’s (CNE) vote tally and determination that the incumbent prevailed in the July 28 election with 51% of the vote as “deeply flawed” and unrepresentative of the “will of the Venezuelan people,” in a statement released by the State Department.
“The CNE’s rapid declaration of Nicolás Maduro as the winner of the presidential election came with no supporting evidence,” the secretary of state wrote, noting that the electoral body has yet to furnish “disaggregated data or any of the vote tally sheets, despite repeated calls from Venezuelans and the international community to do so.”
“Meanwhile, the democratic opposition has published more than 80 percent of the tally sheets received directly from polling stations throughout Venezuela,” Blinken said. “Those tally sheets indicate that Edmundo González Urrutia received the most votes in this election by an insurmountable margin.”
The Biden administration official noted that after consulting with US allies and partners about Venezuela’s election results, the US government found that “none have concluded that Nicolás Maduro received the most votes this election.”
“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,” Blinken asserted.
The top diplomat denounced Maduro’s “unsubstantiated allegations against opposition leaders” and threats to arrest his political opponents.
“We congratulate Edmundo González Urrutia on his successful campaign,” Blinken continued, calling for “discussions on a respectful, peaceful transition” to commence.
Maduro, a 61-year-old former bus driver and foreign minister, has served as Venezuela’s president since 2013.
The US had previously rejected the socialist leader’s re-election in 2018, with the Trump administration levying sanctions against the country in response to the allegedly fraudulent vote.
It’s unclear if the Biden administration will pursue new sanctions against the Maduro regime if the leader refuses to cede power.