CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s Supreme Justice Tribunal on Thursday ratified President Nicolas Maduro’s victory in the July 28 presidential election, sealing institutional backing for the ruling party as the disputed contest fades from international headlines.
Since the vote and deadly anti-government protests which followed, Maduro’s administration has conducted what the opposition, human rights groups and unions have characterized as a crackdown on dissent.
The actions have included arrests of opposition figures and protesters, an investigation into opposition leaders for allegedly inciting the military to commit crimes, the passage of a law tightening rules on NGOs, and forced resignations of state employees allegedly espousing pro-opposition views.
The supreme tribunal has reviewed material from the electoral authority and agrees that Maduro won the election, court president Caryslia Rodriguez said, adding the decision cannot be appealed.
The electoral authority has said since the night of the election that Maduro won just over half of votes, though it has not published full tallies.
The opposition has published online what it says are 83% of voting machine tallies, which give its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez a hearty 67% support.
(Reporting by Vivian Sequera, Mayela Armas and Deisy Buitrago; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb)
