Opposition claims proof of election win as protesters topple government symbols across Venezuela

María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia held a press conference at the opposition bunker to share that, starting today, They have 73.20% of the results at the station level and according to those documents, González Urrutia has received more than 6.2 million votes, compared to Maduro’s 2.7 million votes.

The statement would contradict the results shared on Sunday by Elvis Amoroso of Venezuela’s National Electoral Commission (known by its Spanish acronym CNE) who declares Maduro the winner of the election. According to Amoroso, Maduro received 51.2% of the vote, beating González Urrutia, who received 44%.2.

““We now have a way to prove the truth about what happened during the election,” Machado said. “All documents, as soon as we receive them, are verified, digitized and placed on a robust web portal.” However, opposition leaders have not disclosed the website. They said it will be made public for consultation “tonight.”

“Even if the CNE gives Maduro 100% of the votes, that would not be enough compared to what we already have,” Machado added. “The difference was so big, in every state, every layer, every sector.”

The press conference took place after a tumultuous day across Venezuela in which thousands of citizens took to the streets to protest yesterday’s results. A video that quickly went viral thanks to journalists and politicians such as ex-presidential candidate Leopoldo López, shows a group of people firing several shots towards protesters marching near the Miraflores presidential palace. People immediately run away as police officers give orders, but they do not approach the people with weapons.

Protesters destroy Maduro propaganda across the country

A common thread that began to appear in the videos was Protesters destroy official propaganda from Maduro’s recent election campaign. From posters on the street to billboards, chopping off the sitting president’s face was a symbolic gesture for many.

Statues of Chavez fell to the ground

Another common phenomenon among the protesters was the toppling of statues of the late President Hugo Chávez. Loud cheers accompanied the videos after statues fell to the ground in several squares in Venezuela. The scenes reminded many X users of the 2003 toppling of Saddam Hussein statues that became a symbol of the Western victory over Iraq.

As one user put it: “The statue of Chávez will fall like the statue of Saddam Hussein. The Venezuelan people will be free, there is no eternal dictator. Nicolás Maduro will fall like any tyrant.”