Venezuelan opposition leader calls for protests against election results and claims electoral fraud in the July 28 vote

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado called on citizens to take part in mass protests on August 17 to contest the results of the July 28 presidential elections.

In statements to the media, Machado accused the National Electoral Council of electoral fraud and claimed that her party's candidate, Edmundo González, won with 67% of the vote.

She vowed to continue the fight against the authoritarian regime she described and stressed that the opposition would not allow the election it believes it has won to be manipulated.

“Next Saturday, August 17, Venezuelans from all over the world will unite to raise their voices for the truth: July 28th it will be #VenezuelaWon,” she wrote on X. “With records in hand, we want to show the world that we will not let our victory be stolen from us.”

“We won, everyone knows it, and we have the records to prove it,” Machado said.

Venezuela's National Electoral Council announced on July 29 that President Nicolás Maduro had secured a third term with 51.2% of the vote, a result rejected by González and Machado.