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Nicolás Maduro has announced that the Supreme Court will “audit” the presidential election results after facing allegations of electoral fraud.

What Maduro is saying: Maduro announced that the Supreme Court would audit the recent presidential election and that he was “prepared” to show voting tallies.

What the opposition is saying: The Venezuelan opposition, led by main challenger Edmundo González and opposition leader María Corina Machado, is contesting the official election results that declared Nicolás Maduro the winner. They argue that they have secured over two-thirds of the tally sheets from polling stations, which show González receiving approximately 6.2 million votes compared to Maduro’s 2.7 million. This contradicts the figures released by the National Electoral Council, which claimed Maduro secured 51% of the vote.

What critics say: Many critics have dismissed Maduro’s announcement, arguing that the court is aligned with his government. They point out that the justices are appointed by the National Assembly, which Maduro’s Socialist Party controls.

Growing global pressure: International pressure on Maduro has increased following Venezuela’s controversial presidential election. Global leaders, including Colombian President Gustavo Petro, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, El Salvador’s President Bukele, and President Joe Biden, have demanded the immediate release of detailed vote counts to ensure transparency. Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign affairs chief, has also gone further, noting that they would not recognize Maduro’s victory without independent election verification.