BTN News: The recent presidential election in Venezuela has taken a surprising turn. New records show that the opposition candidate, Edmundo González, received many more votes than the government admitted. This has cast serious doubts on the declared victory of President Nicolás Maduro. The opposition claims they have clear evidence that González actually won the election. This has caused a major political controversy in Venezuela and around the world.
The Associated Press (AP) recently analyzed almost 24,000 images of electoral records. These images represented 79% of the voting machines. Their findings show that González got 6.89 million votes. This is much more than the votes the government said he received. The official results said that Maduro won, but these new findings suggest otherwise. This has led to many questions about the honesty of the election.
Detailed Analysis of the Electoral Records
The AP processed the images of the electoral records carefully. Each record had vote counts encoded in QR codes. The analysis covered about 10.26 million votes. The results showed that González got a strong lead with 6.89 million votes, while Maduro only got 3.13 million. These numbers are very different from what Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) reported. They said Maduro had 6.4 million votes, and González had 5.3 million.
Elvis Amoroso, the president of the CNE, said the delay in updating the results was because of cyber-attacks. He claimed these attacks slowed down the transmission and sharing of the data. However, many people, including the opposition, are not convinced by this explanation. They are calling for an independent review of the election process.
Opposition’s Stand and International Reactions
The opposition, led by Edmundo González and María Corina Machado, stands firm. They say their data is real and accurate. They collected tally sheets from polling stations all over the country. These sheets clearly show that Maduro lost the election. At first, they shared scanned copies of these sheets online. But after facing strong attacks from Maduro’s side, they made the database publicly accessible.
The AP verified the opposition’s records by successfully extracting data from 96% of the tally sheets they provided. Even though the quality of 4% of the images was too poor to analyze, the overall evidence strongly supports the opposition’s claims.
The international community reacted quickly. The United States recognized Edmundo González as the true winner of the election. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the evidence is clear and that González won. This statement reflects the views of many Venezuelans. President Maduro criticized the U.S. for recognizing González and accused them of trying to interfere in Venezuela’s affairs.
Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador also spoke out. He said it is important to present concrete evidence to prove the election results. He and the leaders of Brazil and Colombia are staying in close contact to discuss the situation in Venezuela. López Obrador emphasized that only clear proof can confirm the true outcome of the election.
Conclusion
The controversy around Venezuela’s presidential election highlights the need for honesty and transparency. The opposition’s evidence, supported by the AP’s analysis, raises serious doubts about the official results. It shows the need for an unbiased review of the election process. As the world watches closely, the legitimacy of Nicolás Maduro’s presidency is in question. People are calling for justice and truth more loudly than ever.
