(Toronto) About 300 people gathered in downtown Toronto on Saturday outside the Ontario legislature to protest the disputed results of Venezuela’s presidential election and demand a stronger response from Ottawa.
Electoral authorities declared President Nicolás Maduro the winner of last Sunday’s election, but have yet to produce the vote count proving his victory.
Rebecca Sarfatti, an organizer who belongs to Toronto’s Venezuelan community, called the Canadian response “bland.”
She says other countries, such as the United States, believe the election is “rigged,” adding that Canada must say whether it considers President Maduro a dictator.
The Biden administration has strongly supported the opposition, recognizing Edmundo González as the winner and rejecting the official results of the National Electoral Council.
An Associated Press analysis of vote tallies released Friday by Venezuela’s main opposition indicates that its candidate won far more votes in Sunday’s election than the government claims, casting serious doubt on the official claim that Mr. Maduro won.
Some protesters carried signs reflecting the opposition’s election tally, which showed González had won millions more votes than Maduro, and urged the Venezuelan president to accept the results.
Many protesters still have family in Venezuela, expressing concern for their safety and citing mass detentions and violence.
M’s motherme Sarfatti still lives in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, and says she can’t leave her house. She worries about food shortages in the coming weeks.
“I know that most people here have someone who has suffered from this regime, either now or in the past,” Mr.me Sarfatti. They don’t feel safe going outside.”
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said she was “deeply concerned” by reports of violence in Venezuela and that the information provided by observers raises “significant concerns about the integrity of the electoral process.”
With information from the Associated Press