“We won’t leave the streets”- Machado promises Venezuelans as they protest election results

Hundreds in cities across Venezuela and more people around the world gathered outside the Venezuelan embassies to join Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and Presidential Candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez in protest of the Nicolas Maduro third term in office.

Protests in Venezuela over Election Results - Reuters Photos

The scheduled demonstration was heavily promoted on social media by Ms Machado and Mr Gonzalez and their many supporters. Machado and Gonzalez had asked supporters to come out on Saturday with copies of their voting receipts which would support the opposition’s claim of victory.

Weeks of protests since the announcement that Nicolas Maduro had won the July 28 elections have claimed the lives of 25 people and led to some 2400 arrests. On Saturday, online news agencies in Venezuela reported that Ms Machado promised hundreds of supporters in Caracas, that they (the Opposition) would not leave the streets. Photographs captured demonstrators around the world waving Venezuela’s national flag as well as messages of support for the opposition.

Protests in Venezuela over Election Results - Reuters Photos

Meanwhile, Venezuela’s electoral authority (CNE) which is widely considered to be an arm of the ruling party, maintains that President Nicolas Maduro won his third term with just under 52% of the vote.

However, Opposition tallies that have been posted online and independent exit polls show Mr Gonzalez won some 7 million votes, while Maduro managed to capture 3.3 million. The CNE is still is to publish the full tallies despite calls from Venezuelans and world leaders but insists that Mr Maduro is the clear winner of the elections. The CNE website is still offline and has been since July 29.

Protests across the world in support of Machado

A joint statement from several countries has reissued the call for “broad, inclusive, and good-faith dialogue to facilitate a political agreement that fosters national reconciliation, peace, public security and democracy in Venezuela.”

The statement also requests “the immediate return of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to Venezuela, and call on Venezuela to ensure the necessary conditions for it to fully carry out its mandate.”

This statement was signed by Republic of Argentina, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Spain, Guatemala, Guyana, Italy, Morocco, The Netherlands, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, USA, and the European Union.