CARACAS, Aug 24 (AFP): The United States along with countries in
Europe and Latin America on Friday rejected the certification by Venezuela's Supreme Court of strongman Nicolas Maduro's widely questioned presidential reelection.
Washington, which has sanctions in place against Maduro's regime, said through State Department spokesman Vedant Patel that the ruling "lacks all credibility," while Spain and Mexico continued to insist on a detailed breakdown of voting results.
Venezuela's top court, widely regarded as loyal to Maduro, on Thursday certified his disputed reelection to a third, six-year term-a ruling he welcomed as "historic."
The CNE electoral council, also seen as a Maduro ally, had declared him the winner of the July 28 election, with 52 percent of votes cast. It never provided a detailed breakdown of results.
The opposition says polling station-level results show that its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, a 74-year-old retired diplomat, defeated Maduro by a wide margin.
It published these results online, prompting an investigation by Attorney General Tarek William Saab, seen as a Maduro ally, who said the opposition had "usurped" the powers of the CNE to release election results.
On Friday, Saab said he would summon Gonzalez Urrutia "in the coming hours" to explain his "disobedience" of state institutions.
Patel said Friday there was "overwhelming evidence" Gonzalez Urrutia had won the vote, and warned that "continued attempts to fraudulently claim victory for Maduro will only exacerbate the ongoing crisis."
