Venezuela’s highest court, filled with Maduro loyalists, has ratified the disputed presidential election results granting him another term.
Breitbart reported that on July 28, Venezuela's electoral landscape was shaken as the National Electoral Center declared Nicolás Maduro the victor with 51.9% of the vote.
This announcement kicked off a series of events brimming with contestations and accusations of electoral malfeasance.
Caryslia Rodríguez, president of Venezuela’s Supreme Justice Tribunal (TSJ), led the charge in affirming Maduro’s victory following a request for judicial review directly from the incumbent’s camp.
This development came amidst suspicious delays in the CNE’s release of crucial voter data, which the agency blamed on a "cybernetic attack."
The opposition, rallying behind candidate Edmundo González, contradicted the official results, bolstering their stance with local polling data suggesting a landslide for González.
Amidst this turmoil, the credibility of the TSJ and CNE was openly challenged both domestically and internationally.
Despite these charges, the TSJ proceeded to examine available electoral materials, claiming they found a complete match with results produced by voting machines.
For further reassurance, the TSJ ordered the preservation of this data and mandated its inclusion in the Electoral Gazette.
A concurrent move by the TSJ was to request the Attorney General’s Office to launch a criminal probe against opposition leaders for purported illegalities concerning their publication of unofficial voter tallies. This was seen as an attempt to stifle dissent and tighten Maduro’s grip on power.
The international community has not remained silent. Several countries, including the United States and multiple Latin American nations, have expressed staunch opposition to the TSJ's decisions, criticizing them as antithetical to democratic norms.
Their collective statement highlighted severe irregularities such as the denial of opposition agents to witness vote counts and the lack of transparency overall.
The UN’s Fact-Finding Mission echoed these apprehensions, pointing to the partisan alignments of both Caryslia Rodríguez and CNE’s head Elvis Amoroso with the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).
Marta Valiñas, head of the Mission, remarked on the connection and possible biases it entails, particularly regarding actions against opposition figures.
Moving forward, Maduro has voiced support for a proposal from the National Assembly, dominated by his party, to overhaul electoral laws.
The reforms seek to exclude critics of the TSJ’s rulings from future elections, framing such opposition as an attempt to introduce a fascist regime—a claim Maduro reiterated in a public statement.
With the political landscape increasingly polarized, critics argue that these proposed reforms threaten to dismantle the remnants of the democratic process in Venezuela.
"When there is an electoral dispute, there is only one instance designated to resolve it," Maduro declared, asserting the supreme authority of the TSJ in such matters.
The reinforced alignment between legislative proposals and judicial endorsements of electoral outcomes denotes a significant consolidation of power.
Maduro’s affirmation of measures that might marginalize dissenters underscores the intensified stakes for Venezuela’s political opposition and their dwindling avenues for participation.