Venezuelan Supreme Court begins review of electoral evidence

Venezuela’s Supreme Court of Justice (STJ) announced this Thursday (16) that it has begun analyzing the electoral material submitted to the Court by the National Electoral Council (CNE) and the parties and candidates involved in the presidential election of July 28.

“Once the expert assessment is completed within the deadline previously established by this Electoral Chamber of the STJ, and after verification and certification of the facts, a definitive decision will be issued on this contentious electoral appeal,” declared the president of the TSJ, Caryslia Rodríguez.

On August 5, the Court’s Electoral Chamber set a 15-day deadline to complete the investigation into the presidential election, which ends next Tuesday (20). However, there is a possibility of extending this deadline.

Nicolás Maduro’s reelection was challenged in court after the president appealed to the Supreme Court, alleging fraud reported by the opposition and cyberattacks against the CNE. The election result was not recognized by the opposition, international observer organizations and some countries, including Brazil, due to the lack of detailed disclosure of the results by polling station and the suspension of three audits scheduled for after July 28.

The opposition, which claims to have collected more than 80% of the electoral records, released these documents on the internet, showing the alleged victory of the opposition candidate Edmundo González. The government, in turn, accuses the opposition of falsification and the Venezuelan Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened a criminal investigation into the publication of these records.

The parties that supported Edmundo González did not submit the electoral records to the STJ, as requested, and the candidate himself did not appear at the hearing that was called. Part of the opposition argues that the STJ is exceeding its powers by interfering in the CNE’s jurisdiction and that it did not have access to the content of the appeal filed by Maduro. Simón Calzadilla, secretary general of the Movimento Por Venezuela party, stated that he did not submit the records because they are essential to contesting the results released by the CNE, which has not yet been possible due to the lack of detailed data by polling station.

“The STJ intends to take away from political parties and candidates the only evidence that can validate and verify the election results. We are facing a situation of intervention and a process of concealment with the support of the institutions of the Executive, the Judiciary and the Electoral Power,” Calzadilla denounced in an interview with Venezuela’s Union Radio.

President Nicolás Maduro argued that it is up to Venezuelan institutions to resolve the impasse surrounding the presidential elections, and hopes that the TSJ decision will put an end to the debate over the election result once and for all. Maduro also criticized the opposition for not presenting its material for analysis by the court.

“The Electoral Room [do TSJ] requested all political parties for the necessary information, and they [a oposição] “They showed up empty-handed,” the president said.

With information from News Agencies