The US recognized Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia’s claim to winning the presidential election against President Nicolás Maduro on Thursday in discrediting the results Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) announced.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated in a press statement that it is clear to Venezuelans and the US that González won the majority of votes on Sunday’s presidential election. Blinken applauded Venezuelans for participating in the elections and described the results announced by the CNE as “deeply flawed.”

Blinken also said Maduro’s alleged threats against González and opposition leader María Corina Machado were “an undemocratic attempt to repress political participation and retain power.” Blinken wrote:

The safety and security of the democratic opposition leaders and members must be protected. [] All Venezuelans arrested while peacefully exercising their right to participate in the electoral process or demand transparency in the tabulation and announcement of results should be released immediately. [] Law enforcement and security forces should not become an instrument of political violence used against citizens exercising their democratic rights.

This comes after Blinken voiced “serious concerns” over the election results that were announced on Monday. Blinken said he was concerned about whether the results represented the will of Venezuelans, and called for the votes to be counted fairly and transparently.

Additionally, The Carter Center, a non-governmental organization, called on the CNE to publish the election results on Monday. The Carter Center then stated on Tuesday that the election “did not meet international standards of electoral integrity and cannot be considered democratic.” It also found that the elections occurred when political actors and civil society were restricted in freedoms. Human Rights Watch also raised serious concerns on Tuesday about the fairness and integrity of the elections, condemning the lack of transparency in the results.

The CNE previously declared on Monday that Maduro won the presidential election with 51.2 percent of votes. EU high representative Josep Borrell expressed concern on Tuesday over the partial and unverifiable nature of the CNE’s results and called on the Venezuelan authorities to ensure transparency by making all voting records public and subject to independent verification.