Venezuela was tense on Tuesday as incumbent President Nicolás Maduro and the country’s main opposition coalition both claimed victory in Sunday’s presidential election. The national electoral authority declared Maduro the winner, while the opposition presented evidence to the contrary.
More than 30,000 voting machines were installed for the election, with the opposition having the right to station representatives at all voting centers. However, not all representatives were allowed in or were removed before polls closed.
After the polls closed, Venezuela’s electronic voting machines printed tally sheets showing the votes each candidate received. Experts suggest that releasing these sheets would help resolve the dispute, but the National Electoral Council has not done so.
The main point of contention lies in the tally sheets. The electronic machines provide voters with paper receipts showing their chosen candidate, which are deposited in ballot boxes. Each machine prints a tally sheet after polls close, showing the votes for each candidate. Party representatives and electoral authorities receive copies of these sheets.
The ruling party exerts control over the voting system through the electoral council and local party coordinators who restrict opposition access to voting centers. The National Electoral Council traditionally posts vote counts for each machine on its website but has never shared images of the tally sheets.
The president of the council announced that Maduro received 51.2% of the votes, while the opposition candidate garnered 44%. He stated that these numbers were based on a review of 80% of the tally sheets but did not provide the sheets.
On the other hand, the opposition leader claimed that the opposition candidate received more votes than reported by the council. She stated that these numbers were based on a review of 73.2% of the tally sheets and directed voters to a website to view the corresponding sheet for their voting machine.
The National Electoral Council is not obligated to post the tally sheets on its website, which has been inaccessible since Monday. The opposition has created a searchable website with images of the tally sheets obtained by their representatives, which they are sharing with the international community.
