Biden and Lula urge Venezuelan authorities to release detailed presidential election voting data

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — U.S. President Joe Biden and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Tuesday agreed that Venezuela must release detailed voting data from Sunday’s presidential vote after electoral authorities friendly to President Nicolás Maduro declared him the winner in a result disputed by the opposition.

The government meanwhile ratcheted up its attacks on the main opposition coalition, suggesting its leader Maria Corina Machado and her handpicked presidential candidate should be arrested.

The National Electoral Council, which is loyal to the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela, has said Maduro won the election. The opposition says that its candidate, Edmundo González, secured more than twice as many votes as the incumbent, and that it has voting precinct data to prove it. The council has yet to release any figures at the polling station level.

Biden and Lula — a Maduro ally — “agreed on the need for immediate release of full, transparent, and detailed voting data at the polling station level by the Venezuelan electoral authorities,” according to a White House statement summary of a phone call between the two leaders.

The outcome “represents a critical moment for democracy in the hemisphere,” the presidents said.

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