Balloting in the recent Venezuela election
was tampered with, according to a firm that supplied voting machines.
CARACAS, Venezuela — The British company that provided voting machines used in Venezuela’s election this week said Wednesday that the balloting was “tampered with” and the company could not endorse the results.
“We estimate the difference between the actual participation and the one announced by authorities is at least 1 million votes,” said Antonio Mugica, chief executive of Smartmatic.
Mugica did not accuse the government of President Nicolas Maduro of finagling the vote count, but said at a London news conference that Sunday’s electoral results are the first it has repudiated since 2004 when it began supplying voting machines to the Venezuelan government.
He declined to provide specific figures, saying that the tally was under review.
Smartmatic’s disclosure bolstered the claims of some observers who said Sunday that exit polling indicated that the government’s turnout figures were inflated.
The National Electoral Council on Wednesday denied any implication of ballot manipulation, criticized Smartmatic’s comments as “irresponsible” and threatened legal action against the company.
The council said late Sunday that 8.1 million voters, or 41.5 percent of those eligible, turned out to select 537 members of a new assembly charged with writing a new constitution.
The turnout figure as stated by the government was significant because it exceeded the 7.6 million ballots cast by opposition voters July 16 in a protest vote to express rejection of the assembly. By apparently winning the turnout contest, Maduro government could thus claim greater public approval.
Leaders of the opposition-controlled National Assembly say the new constitution is a maneuver by Maduro to sideline the democratically elected congress and perpetuate himself in power. Several international leaders and human rights groups also have criticized the new constitution as a prelude to dictatorship.
This week, the United States announced it was levying sanctions on Maduro by freezing any U.S. assets he has, a measure imposed on 13 other members of his government last week. Washington is also said to be considering restricting imports of crude oil from Venezuela, among the top U.S. suppliers.
Opposition lawmaker Julio Borges, who is president of the National Assembly, told reporters Wednesday that the Sunday vote was a fraud and that he and other leaders would register complaints with the nation’s attorney general, who functions as a public advocate.
Venezuela has been in the throes of nationwide protests since late March, with citizens demonstrating against food shortages, galloping inflation and Maduro’s autocratic government. Clashes with authorities have left 120 dead and thousands injured.