Maduro Heads to Supreme Court Seeking to Cement Disputed Vote Win

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro addresses supporters outside Miraflores presidential palace, during a rally backing the presidential election results in Caracas on August 7, 2024.  (Photo by Yuri CORTEZ / AFP)

President Nicolas Maduro is scheduled to go before Venezuela’s Supreme Court on Friday, where he will seek confirmation of his disputed reelection.

The court appearance comes as the country’s main opposition leader continues to argue against the July 28 poll, telling AFP that she would offer Maduro “guarantees and incentives” in exchange for a “negotiated transition” of power in which he would step down.

The country has been in a political crisis since electoral officials declared Maduro the winner of last month’s vote, a decision that has been questioned both domestically and internationally.

The National Electoral Council (CNE) has yet to release detailed results from the vote, while the opposition has released copies of 84 percent of ballots cast, showing an easy win for their candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia. The government says those results are forged.

The Supreme Court, which is widely regarded to backing with Maduro, has summoned all presidential contenders before it, though some in the opposition have refused to present themselves.

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado spoke to AFP via voice notes supplied while in hiding due to concerns over her safety, and she also called for additional international solidarity.

According to rights groups, protests spurred by Maduro’s victory proclamation last week killed at least 24a people and jailed thousands more.

“We want peace, tranquility, that is why I filed this contentious appeal before the Supreme Court,” Maduro said Thursday at a rally in Caracas.

“There have been two days of hearings, all candidates and all parties were summoned… It’s my turn.”