Supreme Court ruling in Venezuela will be “definitive” on presidential elections

The ruling that the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela will issue on the disputed presidential elections will be “definitive”, said the president of the organization during a hearing on the July 28 elections on Saturday.

>>> You can also read: The disappearances of opposition members in Venezuela continue: the country “is experiencing a crisis”

The court “continues the evaluation initiated on August 5, 2024, with a view to issuing the final ruling. Its decisions are final and binding,” said Carylsia Rodriguez.

Most observers say that The high court is loyal to the government of Nicolás Maduro, who has won a narrow victory in the elections.

Opposition leaders insist that their candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, won in a landslide and have presented as evidence what they say are official recounts from polling stations.

Maduro himself summoned the high court on August 1 to “validate” a victory questioned both at home and abroad.

The court heard from all candidates, including Maduro, this week except for Gonzalez Urrutia, who has said he fears arrest.

He has made no public appearances in more than a week, while key opposition leader Maria Corina Machado (a former presidential candidate who was barred from running this time) has said she is living in hiding.

González Urrutia asked Maduro on Saturday to put an end to “violence and persecution,” in reference to post-election protests that human rights groups say left 24 people dead.

Maduro has said 2,200 people have been arrested and two members of the security forces have been killed.

“I ask you on behalf of all Venezuelans to stop the violence and persecution and “immediately release all compatriots arbitrarily detained,” said González Urrutia in a video posted on social media.

“Enough of persecution and violence, enough of trying to spread terror, enough of not respecting the will of Venezuelans to change,” said González Urrutia. “Let’s all start to get our country out of this crisis.”

“Demanding respect for our Constitution is not a crime, peacefully demonstrating to enforce the will of millions of Venezuelans is not a crime,” added the 74-year-old former diplomat.

The National Electoral Council (CNE) ratified Maduro’s victory on August 2, saying he had won 52% of the vote, but refused to release exact tallies from polling stations, saying the data had been hacked.

The opposition, however, published printed counts – the legitimacy of which Maduro has denied – which they say show González Urrutia received 67% of the vote.

The opposition and many observers say that the Alleged hacking of results is a government invention to avoid having to publish election documents.

Maduro rejected these accusations last Friday and said that there was a “brutal” hack, with “30 million attacks per minute on the electronic systems of the CNE and Venezuela.”

Opposition lawyer Perkins Rocha said that by appealing to the high court, Maduro was effectively acknowledging that “no one believes” in the CNE, adding that “Maduro knows he can count on a (court) that kneels before him.”

During his tenure, Maduro has overseen a national collapse, including an 80% drop in the GDP of the once oil-rich country, amid internal economic mismanagement and international sanctions.

According to the United Nations, more than seven million Venezuelans have fled the country of 30 million people since Maduro took power in 2013, mainly to other Latin American countries and the United States.

>>> You can also read: Maduro rules out negotiating with opposition in Venezuela, but will speak with 3 presidents