Opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government protest in Caracas on July 29.YURI CORTEZ/Getty Images
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says Canada and other Western democracies have “serious concerns” about Sunday’s disputed election in Venezuela.
Venezuela’s electoral authority, which is controlled by loyalists of President Nicolás Maduro, declared the incumbent the winner of the presidential election even as the opposition disputed the results.
The opposition said tallies they collected from campaign representatives at the voting centres had shown opposition candidate Edmundo González trouncing Mr. Maduro. Mr. González had been leading in all public opinion polls.
Countries in the region including Chile, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru have demanded to see proof of Mr. Maduro’s victory.FEDERICO PARRA/Getty Images
Ms. Freeland told reporters Monday that the world’s democracies are deeply concerned about the disputed vote.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed her comments, saying Washington had “serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people.”
“It’s critical that every vote be counted fairly and transparently, that election officials immediately share information with the opposition and independent observers without delay, and that the electoral authorities publish the detailed tabulation of votes,” Mr. Blinken said.
In her remarks, Ms. Freeland lauded the “brave people of Venezuela and the brave democracy leaders.”
“It takes real courage to stand up for democracy in a the face of an authoritarian regime,” she said. “Millions of people in Venezuela have been doing that and I want them to know Canada recognizes their courage and determination.”
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González are seen after the electoral authority announced that Mr. Maduro had won a third term.Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters
She noted that Canada has long been a supporter of the democratic opposition and has been strongly critical of the increasingly authoritarian regime. She did not say, however, whether Canada would not recognize the re-election of the Maduro regime, something that Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre called on the Canadian government to do.
“The people of Venezuela voted to free their country from socialist oppression. Yet the communist Venezuelan dictator, Nicolás Maduro, has refused to accept the will of the people and manufactured a fake result that will keep his tyrannical regime in power,” Mr. Poilievre said in a statement. “Canada should only recognize a democratic vote if it is truly free and fair.”
Countries in the region including Chile, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru have demanded to see proof of Mr. Maduro’s victory. Panama announced a temporary suspension of relations with the Maduro regime.
Argentina’s populist president, Javier Milei, was blunt in denouncing the vote: “GET OUT, MADURO, YOU DICTATOR!!!” Mr. Milei wrote on X. “Venezuelans chose to put an end to Nicolás Maduro’s communist dictatorship. The data shows a crushing opposition victory and the world is waiting for the defeat of years of socialism, misery, decadence and death to be recognized.”
With a report from Reuters