Ecuador and Costa Rica recognized Edmundo González Urrutia’s victory in the Venezuelan elections over Nicolás Maduro, who was declared the winner amid allegations of fraud. The Ecuadorian presidency stated on social media platform X that González Urrutia was the “legitimate winner” of the vote. Similarly, Costa Rica’s foreign ministry declared the opposition candidate as the “undisputed winner.”
This brings the total to six countries recognizing the Venezuelan opposition leader, alongside the United States, Peru, Argentina, and Uruguay. On Friday, Venezuela’s electoral authority declared Maduro’s re-election for a third term with 52% of the votes, compared to González Urrutia’s 43%, who has claimed fraud and asserted his victory in the July 28 election.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa defended his decision as a “respect for the will of the Venezuelan people” and rejected the “evident manipulation of results” in the elections. Costa Rica’s foreign ministry also condemned Maduro’s “fraudulent proclamation.”
The Venezuelan opposition claims to have copies of more than 80% of the ballots and asserts that González Urrutia received 67% of the votes. Nine Latin American countries have called for a “complete review of the electoral results” in Venezuela and a “transparent counting” of the votes.
Protests erupted on Monday in response to the results, leading to at least 11 civilian deaths, according to human rights organizations, and hundreds of arrests. “The will of all peoples is sacred and inviolable. Therefore, Ecuador calls on the international community to respect the Venezuelan people’s sacrifice and to join in this effort to safeguard the true decision of this country to be free again,” urged Noboa’s government.
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