Venezuela opposition calls for worldwide protests for election 'truth'

Members of the Venezuelan community in Mexico march during a protest against the result announced for the Venezuelan presidential election at the Monumento a la Revolucion in Mexico City on August 10, 2024. [AFP]

Venezuela's opposition called Sunday for worldwide protests on August 17 to show support for its claimed victory in last month's election over President Nicolas Maduro, who was declared the winner.

"This Saturday, August 17, we will take to the streets of Venezuela and the world... let's shout together so that the world supports our victory and recognizes the truth and popular sovereignty," said opposition leader Maria Corina Machado in a video on social media.

Opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who replaced Machado on the ballot after she was banned from running, said separately: "We won, Venezuela won... see you on the 17th."

Both leaders have been in hiding for over a week, with Machado saying recently that she feared for her life, as several other members of the Venezuelan opposition have been reportedly whisked away with no warning.

Electoral authorities declared Maduro the winner of the July 28 vote with 52 per cent, but have yet to release a detailed breakdown of the results.

The opposition, in contrast, published a large set of data -- the legitimacy of which has been denied by Maduro but backed by the United States and several Latin American countries.

Those results show Gonzalez Urrutia receiving 67 per cent of the vote, largely in line with pre-election polling.

"This message is for you, who do not recognize yourself in today's Venezuela, who are tired of having your family separated, who voted and want what you decided on July 28 to be respected," Machado said on X, which Maduro has sought to ban temporarily in the country.

"See you next Saturday the 17th at the Great World Protest for the TRUTH," she added.

Machado has called for Maduro to enter into negotiations with the opposition, telling AFP that her team would offer "guarantees and incentives" for a "negotiated transition" which sees him leave office.

National collapse

Since coming to power in 2013, Maduro has overseen a national collapse, including an 80 per cent drop in the once-wealthy oil-rich country's GDP, amid domestic economic mismanagement and international sanctions.

According to the United Nations, more than seven million Venezuelans have fled the country of 30 million since 2013, mostly to other Latin American countries and the United States.

The disputed election sparked protests that have left at least 24 people dead, according to rights groups, with more than 2,000 arrested.

Venezuela's Supreme Court -- widely seen as aligned with Maduro -- summoned all presidential candidates before it, though Gonzalez Urrutia refused to attend, saying he risked his freedom by appearing at the venue.

The body's president nonetheless on Saturday said it was continuing to assess the election, and that it's ruling would be "final and binding."

Gonzalez Urrutia called Saturday for Maduro to end "violence and persecution."

"Demanding respect for our constitution is not a crime, demonstrating peacefully to uphold the will of millions of Venezuelans is not a crime," the 74-year-old former diplomat added.

Only a handful of nations allied with Venezuela have recognized Maduro's victory, while several Latin American nations and the United States back the opposition's claim.

The White House on Sunday said it was "considering a range of options to incentivize and pressure Maduro to recognize the election results."

"We have made it clear that Maduro needs to recognize the results of the July 28 election, in which Edmundo Gonzalez received the most votes," a National Security Council spokesperson told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Asked about a Wall Street Journal report which said the United States had offered to give Maduro amnesty in exchange for his leaving office, the spokesperson said: "We have not made any offers of amnesty to Maduro or others since the election."