U.S. dismisses Venezuelan high court's certification of disputed election results

Aug. 23 (UPI) -- The United States on Friday joined a chorus of protest dismissing a decision by Venezuela's supreme court upholding disputed results claiming Nicolas Maduro to be the winner of last month's presidential election.

State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said Thursday's ruling by the Venezuelan Supreme Tribunal of Justice backing Maduro's win over democratic opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez "lacks all credibility."

The disputed results were certified in the tribunal's decision issued Thursday, in which they declared no appeal would be accepted.

"Overwhelming evidence" shows Gonzalez was the actual winner despite a proclamation by the country's state-run election commission declaring Maduro had won a third term in office with just over half the vote, Patel said .

"The publicly available and independently verified precinct-level tally sheets show Venezuelan voters chose Edmundo Gonzalez as their future leader," the U.S. official added. "The will of the Venezuelan people must be respected. Now is the time for the Venezuelan parties to begin discussions on a respectful, peaceful transition in accordance with Venezuelan electoral law, and the wishes of the Venezuelan people."

González has rejected the results, which triggered waves of violent protests around the country. A fact-finding mission conducted by the United Nations Human Rights Council determined 23 people were killed by state forces during civil disturbances between July 28 and Aug. 8. In 18 of these cases, the victims were men under the age of 30.

The UNHRC reiterated its position in the wake of the tribunal's ruling, saying the high court lacked credibility and had come under pressure by the Maduro government. Its chief justice, Caryslia Rodríguez, "is a member of the ruling party and has held electoral positions," the agency said in a statement .

The Organization of American States also weighed in Friday, declaring that both the Venezuelan election commission and the Supreme Tribunal of Justice have shown "total opacity."

Their behavior, the group said, "has been characterized by the promotion of conspiracy theories and the issuance of announcements and statements without any documentary support, avoiding, at all times, citizen scrutiny and impartial verification."

"This regime is not willing to hand over power, it is not even willing to share it," the OAS General Secretariat said.