The UN Human Rights Committee has instructed Venezuela to preserve voting tallies from the disputed July presidential election. The opposition claims these tallies prove candidate Edmundo González won, contrary to the official declaration of Nicolás Maduro’s victory. The investigation into electoral fraud is ongoing, with increasing international recognition of González as the legitimate president.
The United Nations’ Human Rights Committee has mandated that Venezuela must not destroy the voting tallies from the contentious presidential election held on July 28. These official breakdowns of votes from individual polling stations have been integral to the ongoing dispute regarding the election’s legitimacy. Despite the National Electoral Council (CNE), aligned with the government, declaring President Nicolás Maduro the winner, they have yet to substantiate their claim with the official tallies.
The opposition, supported by accredited election monitors, asserted that their collection and publication of over 80% of the voting tallies demonstrate that Edmundo González was the true victor. The Committee, comprised of 18 independent human rights experts, is currently investigating allegations of electoral fraud following a grievance filed by a Venezuelan voter through an international law firm, IHR Legal.
As part of this investigation, the UN has called for the preservation of the detailed voting data from the election. Despite considerable pressure on the CNE to release these tallies, they have delayed their submission, claiming a cyberattack on election night has hampered their ability to provide the results in a timely manner. In stark contrast, the opposition promptly posted the data they had gathered online, with independent media reporting that González received approximately 67% of the votes versus Maduro’s 30%.
President Maduro has dismissed these alternative tallies as fraudulent, maintaining his claim to victory as he prepares for his inauguration on January 10, marking his third term. This situation has resulted in escalating tensions with numerous countries, including the United States and several Latin American nations, which recognize González as Venezuela’s president-elect. IHR Legal characterized this case as unprecedented, potentially solidifying the assertion that Maduro lacks the legitimacy as president-elect of Venezuela.
The political landscape in Venezuela has been marred by allegations of electoral fraud, especially following the recent presidential election. Discrepancies between the official results declared by the CNE and the tallies gathered by opposition parties have led to widespread doubt regarding the integrity of the electoral process. The UN Human Rights Committee’s intervention highlights the international community’s concern about the state of democracy in Venezuela and the accountability of its elected officials. This situation is emblematic of the larger political crisis in Venezuela, which has provoked divisions both domestically and among foreign governments.
The intervention by the United Nations and the ongoing debate about Venezuela’s electoral integrity underscore serious questions about the legitimacy of President Nicolás Maduro’s rule. The demand to preserve the voting tallies and the contrasting claims between the government and opposition highlight the political stakes in this contentious environment. As international support for Edmundo González grows, the implications of these developments may alter Venezuela’s political trajectory significantly.
Original Source: www.bbc.com
