A protestor raises his arms in front of tires on fire in Caracas, Venezuela, on July 29.Matias Delacroix/The Associated Press
Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers approved a declaration on Wednesday voicing solidarity with the Venezuelan people and concern about the announced election results, which sparked protests across the South American nation.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro claimed victory in the country’s elections early this week, but the opposition contested the result and said multiple independent exit polls and quick counts decisively showed its candidate had won.
G7 foreign ministers called on “Venezuelan representatives to publish detailed election results in full transparency” and asked “to immediately share all information with the opposition and independent observers,” a statement seen by Reuters said.
“We call for maximum restraint and for a peaceful, democratic and Venezuelan-led solution,” it added.
Italy holds the rotating presidency of the G7 for 2024. The group also includes Germany, France, Britain, Canada, Japan and the United States.
“On the Maduro regime, I have always maintained a firm condemnation since I have held office in European institutions,” said Antonio Tajani, the leader of the centre-right Forza Italia party and a former president of the European Union parliament.
“The announced results do not seem to reflect the real will of the Venezuelan people,” Mr. Tajani told lawmakers in the Italian lower house of parliament.
The U.S.-based Carter Center, which observed the vote, has said that the Venezuelan election “did not meet international standards of electoral integrity and cannot be considered democratic.”
Protesters have taken to the streets across Venezuela, demanding Mr. Maduro acknowledge his defeat, although the electoral authority declared that he had won a third term with 51 per cent of votes.
The opposition, which considers the election body to be in the pocket of a dictatorial government, said its candidate Edmundo González had more than twice as many votes as Mr. Maduro based on the 90 per cent of vote tallies it had been able to access.
Opposition powerhouse Maria Corina Machado stunned Venezuelans on Monday when she announced that the opposition had acquired the tally sheets, which showed that Mr. González received roughly 6.2 million votes compared with 2.7 million for Mr. Maduro. Hours earlier, the electoral council reported a count of about 5.1 million for Mr. Maduro, against more than 4.4 million for Mr. González.
Ms. Machado said the opposition created a searchable website with images of each tally sheet.
The number of eligible voters was estimated to be around 17 million. Another 4 million Venezuelans are registered but live abroad, and many did not meet the requirements to register to cast ballots overseas.
As Ms. Machado and Mr. González stood atop the truck, supporters began chanting, “President! President!”
“This gathering smells like triumph,” Mr. González told them.
With a report from the Associated Press
Venezuela's opposition said on Tuesday they have proof to show President Nicolas Maduro lost Sunday's election to the opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, as a major international observer concluded the vote was undemocratic.
Reuters