Venezuela’s Maduro asks top court to audit the presidential election, but observers cry foul
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Nicolás Maduro on Wednesday asked Venezuela’s high court to conduct an audit of the presidential election after opposition leaders disputed his claim of victory, drawing criticism from foreign observers who said the court is too close to the government to produce an independent review.
Maduro told reporters that the ruling party is also ready to show all the vote tally sheets from Sunday’s election.
“I throw myself before justice,” he said outside the Supreme Tribunal of Justice headquarters in the capital, Caracas, adding that he is “willing to be summoned, questioned, investigated.”
This is Maduro’s first concession to demands for more transparency about the election. However, the court is closely aligned with his government; the court’s justices are proposed by federal officials and ratified by the National Assembly, which is dominated by Maduro sympathizers.
The Carter Center, which sent a delegation to Venezuela to monitor the election, criticized Maduro’s audit request, saying the court would not provide an independent review.
“You have another government institution, which is appointed by the government, to verify the government numbers for the election results, which are in question,” said Jennie K. Lincoln, who led the delegation. “This is not an independent assessment.”
The Atlanta-based group said Tuesday night that it was unable to verify the announced results and criticized what it called a “complete lack of transparency” in declaring Maduro the winner. Venezuela’s electoral authorities allowed the Carter Center to send 17 observers.
Maduro’s main challenger, Edmundo González, and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado say they obtained more than two-thirds of the tally sheets that each electronic voting machine printed after polls closed. They said the release of the data on those tallies would prove Maduro lost.
Maduro insisted to reporters that there had been a plot against his government and that the electoral system was hacked. Asked later on during a news conference why electoral authorities have not released detailed vote counts, Maduro said the National Electoral Council has come under attack, including cyber-attacks.
“Engineers are fighting right now” to solve those attacks, he said without elaborating.
The government presented some videos that the president said showed people attacking and torching some electoral offices. The Associated Press was not immediately able to verify the images.
