Election monitors for Venezuela's July presidential contest have concluded the voting machine tally sheets, used by opposition parties to claim incumbent President Nicolás Maduro lost the race, appear accurate and legitimate.
Jennie Lincoln, a representative from the United States-based Carter Center, told a meeting of the Organization of American States on Wednesday that the efforts by supporters of challenger Edmundo González to verify the results directly from local precincts convinced her the balloting was likely decided in error.
After collecting data from 80 percent of Venezuela’s polling locations at the conclusion of the July 28 plebiscite, Maduro’s opponents showed the autocratic ruler received 30 percent support, far less than the 51 percent he was officially awarded.
Lincoln stopped short of demanding Maduro step down from his position, telling audience members “observers do not pronounce elections” because it is “the responsibility of the electoral authorities.”
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