CARACAS: Venezuelan opposition leaders on Monday appealed to the military, a mainstay of support for President Nicolás Maduro, to turn against him and “side with the people” after his disputed re-election – a call that was quickly met with a criminal investigation.
Prosecutors said they had launched an investigation targeting opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia for announcing an election winner other than Maduro, inciting disobedience and rebellion.
The opposition insists that Gonzalez Urrutia was the rightful winner of the July 28 presidential election that plunged the oil-rich country into political crisis.
Several countries, including the United States and Argentina, recognized Gonzalez Urrutia as the winner, while others, such as the European Union, balked and demanded full disclosure of voting records.
The disputed election sparked protests last week that left at least 11 civilians dead, according to rights groups.
“We appeal to the conscience of soldiers and police officers to stand by the people and their own families,” the opposition said in a statement, offering “guarantees to those who fulfill their constitutional duty” in an eventual “new government.” .”
The statement, signed by Gonzalez Urrutia as “president-elect”, also called on security forces to stop the “repression” of opposition protests.
The government announced the death of two soldiers in the clashes.
An opposition statement said top commanders were “aligned with Maduro and his nefarious interests, while you are represented by the people who went to vote… whose will was expressed on July 28 and you know it.”
Prosecutors responded by saying that the opposition duo “unconstitutionally and legally falsely announced the winner of the presidential election other than the one announced by the National Electoral Council.”
On Friday, the National Electoral Council (CNE) ratified Maduro’s victory with 52 percent of the vote against 43 percent for Gonzalez Urrutia.
The opposition has uploaded the voting records to a website, which they say Gonzalez Urrutia won with 67 percent of the vote.
The CNE, which the opposition accuses of being loyal to Maduro, has still not provided details of the vote broken down by polling station and said it was the victim of computer hacking.
Maduro asked the Supreme Court, also loyal to him, to “certify” the election in a process that academics and political leaders have deemed inappropriate.
“There is a Supreme Court and it will have the last word in a process that is under attack like never before,” Maduro said.
The Electoral Section of the Supreme Court has asked the National Electoral Council to provide voting records from across the country and official documents that show the final definitive result of Maduro’s victory. The deadline for their release is Monday.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Monday called for dialogue between the Venezuelan government and the opposition to resolve the election dispute.
“Commitment to peace is what leads us to call for dialogue between the parties and promote understanding between the government and the opposition,” Lula said during a state visit to Chile where he met with President Gabriel Boric.
Lula, a Maduro ally engaged in a delicate diplomatic balancing act, has urged his Venezuelan counterpart to release voting records to resolve the dispute.
Earlier on Monday, Lula spoke on the phone with French President Emmanuel Macron.
“We support the aspiration of the Venezuelan people towards transparent elections. This demand is at the heart of every democracy,” Macron wrote in a post on social media after the call. Macron and Lula “called on Venezuelan authorities to publish all voting records from polling stations to guarantee the transparency and integrity of the electoral process,” the Elysee presidential palace said.
