Brazil, Mexico and Colombia call for Venezuela to release full presidential vote tallies

CARACAS/BRASILIA – The presidents of Brazil, Mexico and Colombia have called for Venezuela to release detailed voting tallies on Aug 1, amid a dispute over presidential election results that has sparked protests.

Venezuela’s electoral council proclaimed Mr Nicolas Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, the winner of the July 28 election with 51 per cent of the vote.

But the country’s opposition says its tally of about 90 per cent of the votes shows its candidate, Mr Edmundo Gonzalez, received more than double the support of the incumbent President, in line with independent polling conducted before the contest.

The opposition has released detailed tallies on a public website, but the government has so far not shared any information beyond a national total of votes for each candidate.

The current presidents of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico have traditionally been friendlier with Mr Maduro and have adopted a more neutral stance on the election, as countries around the world call for release of full tallies and the US said Mr Maduro should acknowledge a Gonzalez win.

“We call on the electoral authorities in Venezuela to move ahead quickly and let itemised ballot box level results be known publicly,” Brazil, Mexico and Colombia said in a joint statement after a call between their presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Gustavo Petro.

Results should be verified impartially, the countries said. All political actors should avoid an escalation of violence and electoral controversies should be resolved via institutions, they added.

“We reiterate our willingness to support dialogue efforts and the search for agreements that benefit the Venezuelan people,” the statement said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that “given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people, that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia won the most votes”.

“We congratulate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia on his successful campaign,” Mr Blinken continued. “Now is the time for the Venezuelan parties to begin discussions on a respectful, peaceful transition in accordance with Venezuelan electoral law.”

Mr Maduro did not immediately respond to the statement. But he wrote on the social media platform X that he was willing to talk to the US “if the US government is willing to respect sovereignty and stop threatening Venezuela”.

In response to election-related criticism, Venezuela has expelled diplomats from Argentina and five other countries – Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay.

Caracas and Lima expelled each other’s diplomats after Peru recognised Mr Gonzalez as Venezuela’s elected president.

Mr Maduro has requested a call with Mr Lula, a Brazilian source said.

The disputed election has led to deadly protests that Mr Maduro and his allies in the military have denounced as an attempted coup.

Human Rights Watch said on July 31 it had received reports of 20 deaths in post-election demonstrations.

The protests had closed shops and caused cuts to public transport around Venezuela, which is mired in a deep and lengthy economic crisis marked by high inflation, but many places were returning to normality by Aug 1.

Major government figures including Mr Maduro said Mr Gonzalez and high-profile opposition leader Maria Corina Machado should be held responsible for the anti-government protests, with some going as far as to call for their arrests.

There have been more than 1,200 arrests of protesters, Mr Maduro said on Aug 1, and the government is seeking 1,000 more.

The Venezuelan government said the electoral authority was the victim of a cyber attack on July 28. The electoral authority website has been down since July 29.

Venezuela’s Supreme Justice Tribunal on Aug 1 accepted a request from Mr Maduro for all presidential candidates to present their vote tallies at a session on Aug 2, court president Caryslia Beatriz Rodriguez said on state television.

Mr Maduro said on July 31 that his Socialist party is ready to present all vote tallies and asked the Supreme Justice Tribunal to ensure all parties do the same.

Brazil will take over administration of the Argentine and Peruvian embassies in Caracas – putting in its hands the fate of six Venezuelan opposition figures who are living at the Argentine ambassador's residence after warrants were issued for their arrests in March.

Argentina has granted them asylum, but the Venezuelan government has not allowed them to safely leave the country.

The six asylum seekers were now under Brazil's protection, a Brazilian government source said, adding that the regional giant's main concern is preventing civil war in Venezuela.

Mr Celso Amorim, Brazil's top presidential adviser on foreign policy, relayed concern over the six asylum seekers when he met Mr Maduro on July 29, according to a source close to him.

"Brazil has asked for protection for the Argentine embassy and Maduro agreed to that," a Brazilian diplomatic source said.

A spokesperson for Argentina’s foreign ministry confirmed the Argentine diplomats would leave Venezuela on Aug 1, as Argentine President Javier Milei said he had “no doubt that we will soon reopen our embassy in a free and democratic Venezuela”.

Since the election, several opposition figures have been detained, including national Popular Will party coordinator Freddy Superlano, whose party said it has information he is being tortured.

"(Superlano) is in a good state of health," Attorney-General Tarek Saab said on state television in the first official confirmation of the politician's July 30 arrest.

Mr Superlano was "cooperating", he added, without specifying what were the charges for detention.

"He is offering interesting details because we now have identified a larger group... who have participated in the attack on the data update system of the (electoral authority)," Mr Saab said.

Ms Machado said in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal on Aug 1 that she is in hiding and in fear for her life. REUTERS, NYTIMES