US discredits Venezuela election result, declaring opposition candidate winner

Edmundo Gonzalez (left) has been recognised as the election's winner by the US, despite Nicolas Maduro claiming victory. Credit: AP

The United States have discredited the official results of the Venezuelan election, recognising opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez as the winner, and not current President Nicolas Maduro.

The country's electoral body declared Maduro the victor on Monday, but multiple governments, including his own allies, have demanded he release detailed vote counts.

Hours after Maduro was declared the winner, the main opposition coalition revealed it had evidence he had not in fact secured victory - in the form of tally sheets printed by electronic voting machines.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: "Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia won the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election."

President Maduro responded: "The United States needs to keep its nose out of Venezuela."

Government officials from Brazil, Colombia and Mexico have been in talks with Maduro's administration to convince him to allow impartial verification of results.

The three countries issued a joint statement calling on Venezuela "to move forward expeditiously and publicly release" detailed voting data.

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Following Maduro's victory on Monday, the government said it arrested hundreds of protesters, while the Venezuela-based human rights organization Foro Penal said 11 people were killed.

Maduro became president of Venezuela in 2013, and economic chaos gripped the country shortly after, with inflation reaching 130,000%.

The country's economic situation led to social unrest and mass emigration, and more than seven million Venezuelans left the country since 2014 - the largest exodus in Latin American history.

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