Turnout figures for Sunday's controversial vote to create constituent assembly in Venezuela were "tampered with", according to the company that provided the voting system.
"We estimate the difference between the actual participation and the one announced by authorities is at least one million votes," he said yesterday, speaking in London. "We know, without any doubt, that the turnout of the recent election for a national constituent assembly was manipulated."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
According to the country's electoral council, more than eight million people cast their ballot.
Mugica declined to answer directly whether the turnout numbers changed the result of the election, but did say the authorities in Venezuela "would not be sympathetic to what we'd say". He added he had not yet passed the evidence to the electoral council.
According to internal electoral council figures reviewed by Reuters, only 3.7 million people had voted by 5.30pm local time on Sunday.
Given that the opposition refused to field candidates, "turnout is seen as crucial in the vote", says the BBC, with the figure giving an indication of support for the government.
President Nicolas Maduro responded to Mugica's claims by accusing Smartmatic of bowing to US pressure.
"That stupid guy, the president of Smartmatic, pressured to the neck by the gringos and the Brits, said there were 7.5 million [voters]," he said, reports the Guardian. "I think there were ten million Venezuelans who went out."
-
Metal-based compounds may be the future of antibioticsUnder the radar Robots can help develop them
-
Europe’s apples are peppered with toxic pesticidesUnder the Radar Campaign groups say existing EU regulations don’t account for risk of ‘cocktail effect’
-
Political cartoons for February 1Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include Tom Homan's offer, the Fox News filter, and more
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
How oil tankers have been weaponisedThe Explainer The seizure of a Russian tanker in the Atlantic last week has drawn attention to the country’s clandestine shipping network
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
Venezuela ‘turning over’ oil to US, Trump saysSpeed Read This comes less than a week after Trump captured the country’s president
