Venezuelans across the world responded to a call from their country’s political opposition on August 17 and took to the streets to defend the faction’s claim to victory over President Nicolás Maduro in last month’s disputed presidential election.
The demonstrations in Tokyo, Sydney, Mexico City, and several other cities were an effort by the main opposition coalition to make visible what they insist is the real outcome of the election. They also called on governments to throw their support behind candidate Edmundo González and express support to Venezuelans who are facing a brutal repression campaign.
Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, whose members are loyal to the ruling party, declared Maduro the winner of the July 28 election hours after polls closed. Unlike previous presidential elections, the electoral body has not released the tally sheets’ detailed voting data to back up its claim that Maduro earned 6.4 million votes while González, who represented the Unitary Platform opposition coalition, garnered 5.3 million.
Security forces have rounded up more than 2,000 people for demonstrating against Maduro or casting doubt on his claim he won a third term despite strong evidence he lost the vote by a more than 2-to-1 margin.
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