Updated 03.03 | Published 02.44
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full screen Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado greets voters on August 3 in Caracas. Since then, she has gone underground for fear of being caught. Photo: Cristian Hernandez
Venezuela’s opposition is calling for protests around the world on August 17 to show support for the victory they say they won in the country’s disputed presidential election.
– Let’s shout together so that the world recognizes our victory, the truth and the sovereignty of the people, says opposition leader Maria Corina Machado in a video on social media.
Even Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who is the opposition’s presidential candidate after Machado was stopped from running, says that “see you on the 17th”.
Both opposition leaders have been in hiding for over a week as they feel threatened by the regime.
The Electoral Commission of the country, which is close to the incumbent President Nicolas Maduro, has officially declared that he won the election. But according to the opposition, records collected directly from over 80 percent of polling stations show their candidate won big, with two-thirds of the vote.
Several countries around the world have criticized the election and demanded that Venezuela present a detailed and verifiable election result – something the regime has refused.
Now the country’s highest court – which critics and the opposition call Maduro-loyal – will decide the issue.