Between 200 and 250 protesters took to Brussels’ city centre on Saturday to demonstrate against the results of the controversial election in Venezuela last Sunday. Concerns have been raised over the legitimacy of the election.
Around 250 people, mostly Venezuelans, gathered at Albertina Square, close to Central Station, on Saturday to protest against incumbent President Nicolás Maduro being re-elected, a result the group disputed during the demonstration. They argued that the opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzàlez Urrutia actually won.
"The opposition was able to inspect about 83% of the electoral tickets," an announcement from the organisers read. "This showed that Gonzàlez obtained more than 7 million votes, while Maduro had only 3.2 million to his name."
Venezuelans protesting in #Brussels #Belgium 🇧🇪 in #solidarity with those protesting in #Venezuela today. Almost 8️⃣ million people left the country & today they are asking that the will of the people must be respected #GanóVzla 🗳️ #EUCO continue pressuring #ShowTheData 🇻🇪🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/pdfpxj7SfQ
— Nelson Dordelly Rosales, Ph.D/LL.D (@nelsondordelly) August 3, 2024
Electoral fraud?
Venezuela's presidential elections that took place last Sunday (28 July) were highly anticipated by many in the polarised and economically troubled country. The majority of Venezuelans wanted a change of politics, mainly by unseating the authoritarian government led by Maduro, which has ruled for a quarter century.
The United Socialist Party’s incumbent president was officially re-elected on Monday 29 July, with the Electoral Council confirming he won against Venezuelan presidential candidate Gonzàlez (with Maduro garnering 51.9% of the vote compared to opposition leader Gonzàlez’s 43%).
However, concerns were soon raised about the democratic progression of the election, with some pointing to "electoral fraud". Countries including Peru, Argentina, Panama, Costa Rica and Ecuador have since stated they consider Gonzàlez to be the legitimate president. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed there was "irrefutable evidence" that Gonzàlez won the election, a view also held by the European Union.
The Brussels protesters stated during the demonstration that they continue to back Gonzàlez, condemning the "attempted fraud" by the Venezuelan regime to maintain its power. Furthermore, they argued the elections took place "without any form of international observation", contravening all valid electoral laws.
In Venezuela, public dissatisfaction led to widespread protests in recent days, resulting in the death of several protesters and more than 1,200 people reportedly being arbitrarily detained. The protesters in Brussels also denounced the way protests are being suppressed in Venezuela.
Re-elected president Maduro, on the other hand, attributes the unrest to “criminal violence”, instigated by the opposition, accusing it essentially of a "coup led by the US and extreme international right".
