The Electoral Commission, CNE, declared the sitting president Nicolas Maduro the winner of the election on July 28. According to CNE, Maduro won with 52 percent of the votes – but no detailed voting data has been presented since then to prove it.
Maduro's victory has been questioned by the opposition in the country as well as the USA, EU, and several Latin American countries. The situation in the country has been tumultuous since the election, with violent protests that have claimed 25 lives.
A UN expert panel that observed the election released a report on Tuesday with harsh criticism. The election lacked "basic transparency and integrity that are crucial for holding credible elections", according to the panel.
Now, the Electoral Commission CNE is striking back and claims that the UN report is "full of lies and contradictions". CNE asserts that a "cyberterror attack" has made it impossible to show a detailed election result, and adds that the election was conducted in an "impeccable and transparent" manner.
Venezuela's Foreign Ministry has also rejected the UN report. The Electoral Commission's website has been down since election day.
According to the opposition, protocols collected directly from over 80 percent of the polling stations show that their candidate Edmundo González Urrutia won the election with a significant majority.
Nicolas Maduro portrays the opposition's claims of winning the election as a coup attempt and has sworn to crush all resistance. Arrest warrants have been issued against opposition leaders González Urrutia and María Corina Machado, who have gone underground and are in hiding.
The opposition, several Latin American countries, and the USA are demanding that Venezuela present a detailed and verifiable election result. The regime has refused, citing that it is impossible. President Maduro has even claimed that the electoral authority has been hacked by imperialist forces – with Elon Musk at the forefront.
The question of who actually won the presidential election has now been referred to the country's highest court, which is criticized by critics and the opposition as being loyal to Maduro.
Sources: EFE, El País, and others.
