Protesters demand stronger Canadian response to 'rigged' Venezuelan election

Demonstrators gathered at Queen's Park protest the Venezuelan election results and demand a stronger response from Ottawa, in Toronto, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sheila Reid

Republished August 03, 2024 - 3:03 PM

Original Publication Date August 03, 2024 - 1:16 PM

TORONTO - Around 300 people gathered in downtown Toronto outside the Ontario legislature today to protest the results of the disputed Venezuelan election and to demand a stronger response from Ottawa.

Authorities have declared President Nicolás Maduro the winner of last Sunday's election but have yet to produce voting tallies to prove he won.

Rebecca Sarfatti, an organizer in the Toronto Venezuelan community, called the Canadian response "bland."

She says other countries, such as the United States, consider the election to be "rigged," adding that Canada must say whether it thinks Maduro is a dictator.

The Biden administration has thrown its support firmly behind the opposition, recognizing Edmundo González as the victor and discrediting the National Electoral Council’s official results.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly has said she is "deeply concerned" by reports of violence in Venezuela and that information by observers raises "significant concerns about the integrity of the electoral process."

An Associated Press analysis of vote tally sheets released Friday by Venezuela’s main opposition indicates that their candidate won significantly more votes in Sunday’s election than the government has claimed, casting serious doubt on the official declaration that Maduro won.

Some protesters carried signs that reflected the opposition's analyzed election tally, wherein González received millions more votes than Maduro, and urged the Venezuelan president to accept those results.

Many of the protesters still have family in Venezuela, expressing concern for their safety and citing mass detentions and violence.

Sarfatti's mother still lives in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, and says she can't leave her house and worries about grocery shortages in the coming weeks.

"I know most people here have somebody who has suffered either now or in the past from this regime," said Sarfatti, "they don't feel safe going outside."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 3, 2024.

— With files from The Associated Press.