On Thursday, Venezuela’s Supreme Court, perceived by observers as loyal to President Nicolás Maduro, declared him the victor of the contested July 28 election.
Despite allegations of widespread vote fraud from the opposition, the court affirmed the results, confirming Maduro’s re-election.
The court’s ruling, delivered by Presiding Judge Caryslia Rodriguez, endorsed the National Electoral Council’s (CNE) results, which had declared Maduro the winner with 52 percent of the vote. The CNE did not release a precinct-level breakdown, citing a cyber attack, which the Supreme Court acknowledged but which critics argue is a pretext to avoid providing detailed results.
Opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who claims to have won over two-thirds of the vote according to his own tally, rejected the court’s decision, branding it as invalid. In a social media post, Gonzalez Urrutia declared the election results void and criticized the court for bias and ineffectiveness in resolving the dispute. He warned that the ruling would only exacerbate the country’s crisis.
Earlier in the month, the court had indicated that its decision would be final. In response, the UN Human Rights Council raised concerns about the court’s impartiality, accusing it of being influenced by the government and involved in a repressive state apparatus. Marta Valinas, chair of a UN fact-finding panel, alleged that the government had exerted undue influence over court decisions through direct communication and public statements from President Maduro and Diosdado Cabello, a prominent ally.
Human Rights Watch’s Americas division director, Juanita Goebertus, also condemned the ruling as a “crude attempt to judicially cover up electoral fraud.”
Chile’s President Gabriel Boric labeled the decision a “consolidation of fraud,” criticizing the Maduro government for election manipulation and repression. Chile, home to one of the largest Venezuelan migrant communities in Latin America, has been a vocal critic of Maduro’s administration. In response to the election controversy, Venezuela severed diplomatic ties with Chile in late July.
The aftermath of the election has seen rising violence, with Venezuela’s attorney general reporting 27 deaths, over 190 injuries, and 2,400 arrests linked to election protests.
Additionally, Venezuela’s pro-Maduro parliament postponed a debate on a controversial law against “fascism,” which opponents fear could be used to suppress political dissent.
