The Supreme Tribunal of Venezuela (TSJ) ratified Nicolás Maduro as President of Venezuela this Thursday amid a series of criticisms regarding its impartiality, thereby validating the results issued by the National Electoral Council (CNE), which declared him the winner of the presidential elections for the constitutional term 2025-2031.

In a live hearing, nearly a month after the elections, the tribunal ruled on the validity of the disputed July 28 elections. In a statement published on its Instagram account, the Electoral Chamber stated that the results have been verified in an “unrestricted and unequivocal manner” and that it “categorically endorses the results of the presidential election.”

However, opposition leaders, including candidate Edmundo González and María Corina Machado, swiftly rejected the tribunal’s ruling, accusing the court of being complicit in what they describe as a “fraudulent process.” They vowed to continue challenging the election results, citing widespread irregularities and calling for international support to uphold democratic principles in Venezuela.

Furthermore, in response to public concerns that the tribunal was usurping the functions of the CNE, the tribunal declared itself competent to resolve the matter. It cited examples of countries in the region where the highest court resolved disputes arising from electoral events, such as elections in Mexico (2024), Brazil (2022), and the US (2000).

Additionally, the chamber noted that during the elections, there was a “massive cyber attack against the Electoral System, which resulted in a clear transgression of the Electoral Power.” Regarding this matter, the pronouncement includes a section referring the decision to the Attorney General of Venezuela so that it may be incorporated into the ongoing investigations against Edmundo González and María Corina Machado. According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, opposition leaders are being investigated for the alleged commission of crimes such as usurpation of functions, forgery of public documents, incitement to disobedience of the law, cybercrimes, conspiracy, and association to commit a crime, for having declared the opposition candidate as the winner of the elections and for uploading the election results to the website “resultadospresidencialesvenezuela2024.com”.

The pronouncement also urged the CNE to publish the final election results; however, to date, the CNE’s website remains down while the court has been accused of being controlled by the Maduro government. The UN Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela pointed out the lack of independence and impartiality of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, highlighting that the current President of the Electoral Chamber is a member of the ruling party. Additionally, the OAS Permanent Council stated the situation in Venezuela, requesting the CNE to respect the fundamental principle of popular sovereignty through an impartial verification of the presidential election results.

Various presidents from the region, including those of Chile, Guatemala, Paraguay, and Uruguay, issued statements regarding the tribunal’s pronouncement, condemning the elections as fraudulent. This follows a joint declaration from 24 countries requesting “the immediate publication of all original records and the impartial and independent verification of these electoral results.” Former Presidents of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Commission on Venezuela also issued a statement condemning the repression against protesters who opposed the results issued by the CNE, noting that such results are not substantiated by the voting records, thereby violating Venezuelans’ right “to choose their leaders through genuine elections by universal and equal suffrage and by secret ballot.”

In recent days, due to calls for worldwide protests by the Venezuelan opposition, Venezuelans in Latin American countries such as Chile, Argentina, the US, and Peru, among others, as well as in other continents, including Spain, Malta, and Australia, have gathered to challenge the validity of the election results.