Pressure mounts on Venezuela's Maduro government to release vote tallies: ANALYSIS
For three days now, the Biden administration has called on Venezuelan authorities to release the vote tallies across the country to demonstrate Nicolás Maduro won. But now, it seems they have gone a step further -- with the top U.S. diplomat for the region saying outright that Maduro's opponent won an "overwhelming electoral victory."
"With the irrefutable evidence based on the actas, everyone can see it is clear that Edmundo González Urrutia defeated Nicolás Maduro by millions of votes. This is not a projection," Assistant Secretary of State Brian Nichols said Wednesday evening at the Organization of American States (OAS).
Under Venezuela's own rules, the national election authority (CNE) must publicly release the "actas" -- the vote tallies at the local precinct level -- from across the country within three days. Wednesday came and went, with Maduro's government still refusing to do so.
Instead, the opposition says they've obtained more than two-thirds of those tally sheets, showing that González defeated Maduro by 67% to 30%. Nicholas argued that even if Maduro won 100% of the remaining tally sheets, it would be impossible for him to defeat González. He shifted from calling on the CNE to release the tallies, to questioning why they won't.
"Why haven't they? The answer appears to be clear: Either they know the real results prove that Edmundo González clearly won the election, so they don't want to share the results -- or they know that the real results prove that Edmundo González clearly won the election and Maduro's CNE needs time to prepare falsified results to back their false assertion," Nicholas said.
Venezuela did appear to try to buy time on Wednesday, with Maduro asking the Maduro-controlled high court to audit the presidential election. It was the first concession he's made to demands for more transparency from even his leftist allies in Mexico and Colombia, but independent observers criticized any involvement by the high court.
But on Thursday, Maduro said he "won't hesitate to call for a new revolution if forced by North American imperialism and fascist criminals."
Maduro is under a lot of pressure to release the data and results, as his allies in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia are asking for a transparent vote count.
Colombian President Petro wrote in a post on X: "The serious doubts that have arisen around the Venezuelan electoral process can lead its people to a deep violent polarization with serious consequences of permanent division."
"You have another government institution, which is appointed by the government, to verify the government numbers for the election results, which are in question. This is not an independent assessment," Jennie Lincoln, who led the Carter Center's election monitoring mission, told the AP.
But in a possible ploy to buy time, Maduro seems likely to once again ride out a storm against his grip on power. Already, the world's attention is fading, turning back to the Middle East or the Olympics. Allies including Russia, China and Iran came swiftly and strongly to his defense. And at the OAS as of Wednesday night, he survived an attempt to raise the pressure -- with a resolution falling one vote short of passage.
With the sustained support of the military that others have already mentioned, Maduro may be able to successfully steal yet another election -- keeping what was once Latin America's most advanced economy in a free fall that has sent nearly eight million Venezuelans fleeing abroad.
That refugee crisis -- the largest in the world right now -- has destabilized countries across the region, including the U.S. And in an American presidential election that has been dominated by debates over immigration, at least some officials are concerned Maduro's grip on power, his crackdown on protests, and the bleak future ahead may drive even more Venezuelans to flee -- with more potential impacts on American politics, public attitudes, and more.
ABC News has learned that the evidence should be released within four days.
ABC News' Aicha El Hammar Castano contributed to this report.
