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Excerpt from Financial Times
Venezuela’s top court certifies Maduro’s disputed election victory
Venezuela’s government-controlled supreme court has ratified Nicolás Maduro’s disputed election victory amid an ongoing political crisis and crackdown on dissent.
Maduro, a revolutionary socialist in power since 2013, was declared the winner of the July 28 presidential election, though the National Electoral Council, also controlled by his allies, has not published a detailed breakdown of the results.
The opposition said its candidate, retired diplomat Edmundo González, was the real winner by a margin of two to one, and published thousands of voting tally receipts as evidence. Maduro deferred the dispute to the supreme court, which is controlled by officials from the ruling socialist party.
Protests broke out following the election, including in poor neighbourhoods once considered bastions of government support, though they were swiftly put down by Venezuela’s feared security services, with more than 1,500 people since arrested, according to rights group Foro Penal.
