ReutersVenezuela’s Supreme Court has upheld the re-election of President Nicolas Maduro after allegations of voter fraud in a July vote.
The Supreme Court’s (TSJ) ruling comes as the United Nations has warned that the court lacks independence and impartiality.
The TSJ said it reviewed the content of the country’s electoral commission. Mr Maduro has only got half of the votesAnd he admitted that he had won.
Mr Maduro hailed Thursday’s court ruling as a “historic and strong verdict”.
ReutersAnnouncing the court ruling, TSJ President Caryslia Rodríguez said: “The evaluated electoral material is certified without objection and the results of the presidential election published on July 28 by the National Electoral Council (CNE) elected President Nicolás Maduro. Verified.”
The decision cannot be appealed, he said.
Marta Valinas, head of a fact-finding panel organized by the UN Human Rights Council, said the government had “exerted undue influence on TSJ decisions” through “direct messages to judges and public statements”.
Francisco Coxville, another member of the UN fact-finding team, said Ms Rodriguez was a member of Mr Maduro’s ruling party and held elected positions in it.
Mr Maduro has led the country since 2013 and could serve another six years if he is re-elected.
At the very least 23 protesters have been killed in anti-government protests About 2,400 people have been arrested since last month’s election, according to the UN.
The protests erupted after the CNE announced Mr Maduro’s victory on election night without releasing detailed vote counts.
The opposition says the numbers prove that its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez won comfortably, and they have released copies online that were collected by their election watchers.
The documents, which have been reviewed by independent experts and the media, show Mr González won 67% of the vote compared to Mr Maduro’s 30%.
Many Western countries have urged Venezuelan authorities to release the full vote count, while others, including Russia and China, have congratulated Mr Maduro on his victory.
In addition to the deaths and arrests of protesters in the past few weeks, Maduro’s government has launched an investigation into opposition leaders who allegedly incited the country’s military to commit crimes.
They have begun passing a law through the National Assembly that would tighten rules on non-governmental organizations and force the resignation of civil servants who allegedly expressed pro-protest views.
The 2018 presidential election was widely dismissed as not free or fair after opposition candidates were jailed, banned from running or exiled.
“Now you have to be very careful who you talk to, what you say to the people around you,” Dina tells the BBC World Service. “If they see something that makes you suspicious, they can ask for your phone. Go to jail.”
