Venezuelan opposition says it has proof its candidate defeated President Maduro in disputed election

Venezuela Election Protesters demonstrate against the official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro's reelection, the day after the vote in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Venezuela Election Protesters demonstrate against the official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro the winner the day after the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Venezuela Election Protesters burn an election campaign poster of President Nicolas Maduro as they demonstrate against the official election results declaring him the winner the day after the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Venezuela Election Protesters demonstrate against the official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro the winner, the day after the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
APTOPIX Venezuela Election People protest the official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro the winner of the presidential election, the day after the vote in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Venezuela Election Protesters on motorcycles demonstrate against the official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro won reelection, the day after the vote in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
APTOPIX Venezuela Election A protester steps on a campaign sign of President Nicolas Maduro during a march against hish being declared the winner of the presidential election, the day after the vote in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Venezuela Election People protest the official results declaring President Nicolas Maduro was reelected, the day after the vote in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
APTOPIX Venezuela Election Police hurdle a gas canister at protesters demonstrating against the official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro's reelection, the day after the vote in Caracas Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
APTOPIX Venezuela Election Police aim at protesters demonstrating against the official election results after electoral authorities certified President Nicolas Maduro's reelection in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024, the day after the vote. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
APTOPIX Venezuela Election A protester throws a gas canister back at police during demonstrations against the official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro's reelection, the day after the vote, in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
APTOPIX Venezuela Election Protesters demonstrating against the official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro's reelection ride through tear gas fired by police the day after the vote in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
Venezuela Election Protesters demonstrate against the official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro's reelection, the day after the vote in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
APTOPIX Venezuela Election A man carries a protester affected by tear gas thrown by police during demonstrations against the official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro's reelection, the day after the vote, in the Catia neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
APTOPIX Venezuela Election Protesters march against the official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro the winner, the day after the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. The sign reads in Spanish "Until the end. No dictator." (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
APTOPIX Venezuela Election Opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, right, and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado join hands during a press conference the day after the election in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
APTOPIX Venezuela Election Consuelo Marquez holds a Venezuelan flag in front of police blocking demonstrations against the official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro's reelection, the day after the vote in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
APTOPIX Venezuela Election Protesters embrace while singing Venezuela's national anthem during demonstrations against the official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro's reelection, the day after the vote in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
APTOPIX Venezuela Election Protesters smash an advertising board during demonstrations against the official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro's reelection, the day after the vote in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Venezuela Election Opposition supporters protest the official election results outside the Argentine embassy, a day after the vote, in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Venezuela Election Protesters demonstrate against the official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro won reelection in the Catia neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024, the day after the vote. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
Venezuela Election Members of the opposition, in the Argentine embassy, thank supporters protesting the official election results that declared President Nicolas Maduro's reelection, a day after the vote in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
APTOPIX Venezuela Election A protester aims a weapon during clashes with police amid demonstrations against the official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro's reelection in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024, the day after the vote. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
APTOPIX Venezuela Election Protesters demonstrate against the official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro's reelection in Valencia, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024, the day after the vote. (AP Photo/Jacinto Oliveros)
APTOPIX Venezuela Election A person stands above police as he joins protests against the official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro's reelection in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024, the day after the vote. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
Venezuela Election Protesters look after Shuamy Gomez, who was wounded during clashes with police, in demonstrations against the official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro's reelection, the day after the vote in Caracas Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
Venezuela Election Protesters take cover during clashes with police in demonstrations against the official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro's reelection, the day after the vote in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
APTOPIX Venezuela Election Residents bang pots to protest the day after the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
Venezuela Election Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, right, and presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez hold a press conference after electoral authorities declared President Nicolas Maduro the winner of the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Venezuela Election Electoral officials tally votes after polls closed for presidential elections in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Venezuela Election President Nicolas Maduro addresses supporters gathered outside the Miraflores presidential palace after electoral authorities declared him the winner of the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
APTOPIX Venezuela Election Supporters of opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez gather outside his campaign headquarters after the polls closed for the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
Venezuela Election Police patrol the streets during the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Venezuela Election An aerial view of the Guarataro neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, July 27, 2024. Voters head to the polls on July 28 to decide on whether to reelect President Nicolas Maduro for a third term. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Venezuela Election Grocery store workers wait for their employer to open for business in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024, the morning after the presidential election. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Venezuela Election Commuters wait for a bus in the El Valle neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024, the morning after the presidential election. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Venezuela Election People walk along Sabana Grande Boulevard in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024, the day after the presidential election. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Venezuela Election Police and National Guards stand outside the National Election Council (CNE) the day after the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Venezuela Election A resident bangs a pot to protest the day after the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Venezuela Election Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrives for a ceremony where the National Electoral Council (CNE) certifies that he won the presidential election, at the CNE in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Venezuela Election A man crosses an avenue in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024, the day after the presidential election. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Venezuela Election Residents block a street to protest the official results the day after the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Venezuela Election National Guards work to disperse protesters the day after the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Venezuela Election Residents face National Guards as they block a street to protest the official results the day after the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
APTOPIX Venezuela Election Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrives with his wife Cilia Flores for a ceremony where the National Electoral Council (CNE) certifies that he won the presidential election, at the CNE in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
APTOPIX Venezuela Election Defense Minister Padrino Lopez attends the ceremony certifying Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as the winner of the presidential election at the National Electoral Council (CNE) in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Venezuela Election Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, left, receives certification from the President of the National Electoral Council (CNE) Elvis Amoroso that he won the presidential election, at the CNE in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Venezuela Election Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro attends a ceremony at the National Electoral Council (CNE) that certifies him as the winner of the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Venezuela Election Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro attends a ceremony at the National Electoral Council (CNE) that certifies him as the winner of the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
APTOPIX Venezuela Election Residents try to block a street to protest the official results the day after the presidential election as National Guards work to remove them in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Venezuela Election Residents watch protesters face off with National Guards to protest the official results the day after the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Venezuela Election Residents throw objects at National Guards as they protest the official results the day after the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Venezuela Election Residents bang pots and pans to protest the day after the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
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CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — As thousands of people demonstrated across Venezuela, opposition candidate Edmundo González announced Monday that his campaign has the proof it needs to show he won the country’s disputed election in which electoral authorities named President Nicolás Maduro the victor.

González and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado told reporters they have obtained more than 70% of tally sheets from Sunday’s election, and they show González with more than double Maduro’s votes. Both called on people, some of whom protested in the hours after Maduro was declared winner, to remain calm and invited them to gather peacefully at 11 a.m. Tuesday to celebrate the results.

“I speak to you with the calmness of the truth,” González said as dozens of supporters cheered outside campaign headquarters in the capital, Caracas. “We have in our hands the tally sheets that demonstrate our categorical and mathematically irreversible victory.”

Their announcement came after the National Electoral Council, which is loyal to Maduro’s ruling Unites Socialist Party of Venezuela, officially declared him the winner, handing him his third six-year term.

In the capital, the protests were mostly peaceful, but when dozens of riot gear-clad national police officers blocked the caravan, a brawl broke. Police used tear gas to disperse the protesters, some of whom threw stones and other objects at officers who had stationed themselves on a main avenue of an upper-class district.

A man fired a gun as the protesters moved through the city’s financial district. No one suffered a gunshot wound.

The demonstrations followed an election that was among the most peaceful in recent memory, reflecting hopes that Venezuela could avoid bloodshed and end 25 years of single-party rule. The winner was to take control of an economy recovering from collapse and a population desperate for change.

“We have never been moved by hatred. On the contrary, we have always been victims of the powerful,” Maduro said in a nationally televised ceremony. “An attempt is being made to impose a coup d’état in Venezuela again of a fascist and counterrevolutionary nature.”

“We already know this movie, and this time, there will be no kind of weakness,” he added, saying that Venezuela’s “law will be respected.”

Machado told reporters tally sheets show Maduro and Gonzalez received more than 2.7 million and roughly 6.2 million votes respectively.

“A free people is one that is respected, and we are going to fight for our freedom,” Gonzalez said. “Dear friends, I understand your indignation, but our response from the democratic sectors is of calmness and firmness.”

Venezuelans vote using electronic machines, which record votes and provide every voter a paper receipt that shows the candidate of their choice. Voters are supposed to deposit their receipt at ballot boxes before exiting the polls.

After polls close, each machine prints a tally sheet showing the candidates’ names and the votes they received.

But the ruling party wields tight control over the voting system, both through a loyal five-member electoral council and a network of longtime local party coordinators who get near unrestricted access to voting centers. Those coordinators, some of whom are responsible for handing out government benefits including subsidized food, have blocked representatives of opposition parties from entering voting centers as allowed by law to witness the voting process, vote counting and, crucially, to obtain a copy of the machines’ final tally sheet.

Electoral authorities had not yet released the tally sheets for each of the 30,000 voting machines as of Monday evening. The electoral body’s website was down, and it remained unclear when the tallies would be available. The lack of tallies prompted an independent group of electoral observers and the European Union to publicly urge the entity to release them.

In the capital’s impoverished Petare neighborhood, people started walking and shouting against Maduro, and some masked young people tore down campaign posters of him hung on lampposts. Heavily armed security forces were standing just a few blocks away from the protest.

“He has to go. One way or another,” said María Arráez, a 27-year-old hairdresser, as she joined in the demonstration.

As the crowd marched through a different neighborhood, it was cheered on by retirees and office workers who banged on pots and recorded the protest in a show of support. There were some shouts of “freedom” and expletives directed at Maduro.

Several foreign governments, including the U.S. and the EU, held off recognizing the election results.

After failing to oust Maduro during three rounds of demonstrations since 2014, the opposition put its faith in the ballot box.

The country sits atop the world’s largest oil reserves and once boasted Latin America’s most advanced economy. But after Maduro took the helm, it tumbled into a free fall marked by plummeting oil prices, widespread shortages of basic goods and hyperinflation of 130,000%.

U.S. oil sanctions sought to force Maduro from power after his 2018 reelection, which dozens of countries condemned as illegitimate. But the sanctions only accelerated the exodus of some 7.7 million Venezuelans who have fled their crisis-stricken nation.

Voters lined up as early as Saturday evening to cast ballots, boosting the opposition’s hopes it was about to break Maduro’s grip on power. The electoral council’s results came as a shock to many who had celebrated, online and outside a few voting centers, what they believed was a landslide victory for González.

Gabriel Boric, the leftist leader of Chile, called the results “difficult to believe,” while U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington had “serious concerns” that the announced tally did not reflect the actual votes or the will of the people.

In response to criticism from other governments, Maduro’s foreign affairs ministry announced it would recall its diplomatic personnel from seven countries in the Americas, including Panama, Argentina and Chile. Foreign Minister Yvan Gil asked the governments of those countries to do the same with their personnel in Venezuela.

He did not explain what would happen to the staff of Machado’s, including her campaign manager, who have sheltered for months in the Argentinian embassy in Caracas after authorities issued arrest warrants against them.

González was the unlikeliest of opposition standard bearers. The 74-year-old was unknown until he was tapped in April as a last-minute stand-in for opposition powerhouse Machado, who was blocked by the Maduro-controlled supreme court from running for any office for 15 years.

Authorities set Sunday’s election to coincide with what would have been the 70th birthday of former President Hugo Chávez, the revered leftist firebrand who died of cancer in 2013, leaving his Bolivarian revolution in the hands of Maduro. But Maduro and his United Socialist Party of Venezuela, which controls all branches of government, are more unpopular than ever among many voters who blame his policies for crushingly low wages that spurred hunger, crippled the oil industry and separated families due to migration.

The president’s pitch this election was one of economic security, which he tried to sell with stories of entrepreneurship and references to a stable currency exchange and lower inflation rates. The International Monetary Fund forecasts the economy will grow 4% this year — one of the fastest in Latin America — after shrinking 71% from 2012 to 2020.

But most Venezuelans have not seen any improvement in their quality of life. Many earn under $200 a month, which means families struggle to afford essential items. Some work second and third jobs. A basket of food staples to feed a family of four for a month costs an estimated $385.

The opposition managed to line up behind a single candidate after years of intraparty divisions and election boycotts that torpedoed their ambitions to topple the ruling party.

A former lawmaker, Machado swept the opposition’s October primary with over 90% of the vote. After she was blocked from joining the presidential race, she chose a college professor as her substitute on the ballot, but the National Electoral Council also barred her from registering. That’s when González, a political newcomer, was chosen.

González and Machado focused much of their campaigning on Venezuela’s vast hinterland, where the kind of economic activity seen in Caracas in recent years never materialized. They promised a government that would create sufficient jobs to attract Venezuelans living abroad to return home and reunite with their families.

Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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