Venezuelan opposition leader calls for mass protests

​​​​​​​By Sinan Dogan

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado urged citizens to participate in mass protests on Aug. 17 to challenge the results of the July 28 presidential election.

Machado accused the National Electoral Council of fraud in statements to the media, claiming that her party’s candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, won with 67% of the vote.

She vowed to continue the fight against what she described as an authoritarian regime, insisting that the opposition would not allow the election it believes it won to be stolen.

"This coming Saturday, August 17, Venezuelans will unite from all over the world to raise our voices for the truth: on July 28, #VenezuelaWon," she wrote on X. "Let the world see, with the records in hand, that we will not let them steal our victory.”

"We WON, everyone knows it, and we have the records to prove it," said Machado.

Venezuela's National Electoral Council announced July 29 that President Nicolás Maduro had secured a third term with 51.2% of the vote -- a result rejected by González and Machado.

*Alperen Aktas contributed to the story from Istanbul