Regime-dominated Venezuelan Supreme Court rules Maduro election winner despite allegations of fraud
In an unsurprising ruling, the regime-dominated Venezuelan Supreme Court has sided with President Nicolás Maduro’s claims he won last month’s election and said voting tallies published online showing he lost by a landslide were fake.
In a courtroom packed with Maduro supporters, the decision was read Thursday in response to a request made by Maduro to review vote totals showing he had won by more than 1 million votes.
The court’s ruling certifying the results contradicts the findings of experts from the United Nations and the Carter Center who were invited to observe the election and who both determined the results announced by authorities lacked credibility.
The main opposition coalition has accused Maduro of trying to steal the vote.
VENEZUELA'S MADURO FACES POLITICAL MELTDOWN: RIVALS CLAIM ELECTION 'FRAUD' PROOF, POLICE CRACKDOWN ON PROTESTS
Venezuela's government officials have claimed a foreign cyberattack staged by hackers from North Macedonia delayed the vote counting on election night and publication of the results, but they have not provided any evidence.
Gabriel Boric, the leftist president of Chile and one of the main critics of Maduro’s election scam, blasted the high court’s certification.
"Today, Venezuela’s TSJ has finally consolidated the fraud," he said on his account, referring to the initials of the high court. "The Maduro regime obviously welcomes with enthusiasm its ruling… there is no doubt that we are facing a dictatorship that falsifies elections."
The ruling is the latest attempt by Maduro to blunt protests and international criticism that erupted after the contested July 28 vote in which the self-proclaimed socialist leader was seeking a third, six-year term, The Associated Press reported.
Maduro is