5 ay önce

Maduro says 'will not accept' opposition trying to 'usurp the presidency'

Venezuela's incumbent President Nicolas Maduro says he has won the election, while the opposition makes the same claim, rallying for Edmundo Gonzales Urrutia.

AP

President Nicolas Maduro speaks to supporters during a government rally in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, August 3, 2024. / Photo: AP

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said his country would not accept opposition attempts to "usurp the presidency".

"We will not accept" the opposition's claims of victory and moves to "usurp the presidency of the Republic again", Maduro declared at a rally on Saturday, referring to some countries having declared Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia the rightful winner.

Meanwhile, thousands gathered across Venezuela, including in the capital Caracas where Venezuela's opposition leader Maria Corina Machado thrilled supporters with a surprise appearance in a truck bearing a banner reading "Venezuela has won!"

Machado, who spent much of the week in hiding, had backed the candidacy of Gonzalez Urrutia after she herself was banned from running.

Following the July 28 presidential vote, the South American country's electoral council declared Maduro the winner with 51.2 percent of votes cast.

Elvis Amoroso, president of the CNE electoral body loyal, said that 44.2 percent of the vote had gone to opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.

But Gonzalez Urrutia's supporters say he won 67 percent of the July 28 vote.