Venezuelan opposition vows to make Maduro ‘yield’ on election ‘fraud’

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado speaks during a protest yesterday in Caracas against the election results announced by President Nicolas Maduro’s government after he was declared winner of the election. (Reuters)

Venezuelan opposition supporters gathered in Caracas yesterday, chanting “Liberty!” as their leader came out of hiding to lead a protest against what they call President Nicolas Maduro’s re-election fraud.
Maria Corina Machado, who has kept a low profile amid threats from Maduro after the July 28 presidential vote, vowed in front of followers to not stop fighting until the opposition’s claim to victory is recognised.
“They say that the regime will not yield. You know what: we are going to make it yield and (that) means respecting the will expressed on July 28,” Machado told a rally that attracted hundreds of supporters in an atmosphere of fear.
“This protest is unstoppable,” she added.
Machado arrived at the demonstration hiding her face under a black hoodie, which she took off only when she clambered onto the truck that served as her stage.
“Brave! Brave!” supporters chanted as the truck passed them.
“I’m fighting for Venezuela, to recover our democracy. We don’t want to live in a dictatorship,” demonstrator Laidy Molina, a 60-year-old nutritionist, told AFP.
“We are afraid. We fear that they will put us in prison, that they will not respect the constitution but we must continue the struggle,” she added.
Maduro has called for the arrest of Machado and the opposition’s presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who replaced her on the ballot after the regime barred her from running.
Venezuela’s CNE electoral council — with most of its members loyal to 61-year-old Maduro — declared him the winner hours after voting closed, giving him 52 percent of ballots cast without providing a full breakdown.
The opposition has published its own polling station-level records, which it says show that Gonzalez Urrutia, a 74-year-old retired diplomat, won by a landslide.
Spontaneous protests erupted in the hours after Maduro’s claimed victory, with at least 25 civilians killed and more than 2,400 arrested.
Several Latin American countries, the United States and the European Union have called on the CNE to release voting data that proves Maduro’s re-election to a third, six-year term until 2031.
The CNE said it was unable to provide the data due to a computer hack, though election observers said there was no evidence of this.
Yesterday’s rally was the fourth organised protest called by the opposition to denounce Maduro’s election “fraud.”
“We have to protect ourselves, take care of ourselves,” Machado told supporters.
“Every passing day we are making progress… We have succeeded in turning the cause for freedom in Venezuela into a global cause.”
The ruling “Chavista” movement, named after Maduro’s socialist predecessor Hugo Chavez, had also called for demonstrations on Wednesday to mark its “victory.”
Gonzalez Urrutia, last seen in public at an opposition rally on July 30, ignored summons on two successive days this week in an investigation by Maduro-aligned prosecutors into his alleged “usurpation” of official powers, disseminating false information, and incitement of insurrection, among other charges.
The probe stems from the opposition publishing election results that the CNE claims only it has the right to do. The opposition coalition says Gonzalez Urrutia is the target of “judicial harassment.”
The charges against him carry a potential 30-year sentence.
On Tuesday, Maduro reshuffled his cabinet and named two of his closest allies to key positions.
Diosdado Cabello, the number-two in the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), will now head the interior ministry, which is responsible for policing and security matters.
Vice President Delcy Rodriguez will take over the role of oil minister in a country with the world’s largest crude reserves but an industry bent under US sanctions.
Also on Tuesday, Machado accused the regime of “kidnapping” her lawyer.
The authorities have not commented on the reported arrest, which would add to the more than 100 opposition activists taken into custody in recent months.
Six of Machado’s most trusted collaborators, including her campaign chief, have taken refuge in the Argentine embassy in Caracas.