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A6 WORLD NEWS
Friday 2 august 2024
Diplomatic efforts are underway to persuade Maduro to release

Venezuela election vote tallies

By GABRIELA SÁ PESSOA that each electronic voting
and E. EDUARDO CASTILLO machine printed after polls
Associated Press closed. They said the re-
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) lease of the data on those
— Diplomatic efforts are tallies would prove Maduro
underway to persuade lost.
President Nicolás Maduro Asked why electoral au-
to release vote tallies from thorities have not released
Venezuela’s presidential detailed vote counts, Mad-
election, after opposition uro said the National Elec-
leaders disputed his claim toral Council has come
of victory and amid in- under attack, including cy-
creasing calls for an inde- ber-attacks, without elabo-
pendent review of the re- rating.
sults, according to officials The presidents of Colombia
from Brazil and México. and Brazil both close allies
Government officials from of the Venezuelan govern-
Brazil, Colombia and Mex- ment have urged Maduro
ico have been in con- to release detailed vote
stant communication with counts.
Maduro’s administration to The Brazilian official said the
convince him that he must diplomatic efforts are only
show the vote tally sheets intended to promote dia-
from Sunday’s election and Demonstrators hold a Venezuelan flag outside that nation’s consulate to protest the contested logue among Venezuelan
allow impartial verification, presidential election results in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. stakeholders to negotiate
a Brazilian government of- Associated Press a solution to the disputed
ficial told The Associated have been discussing the audit of the election, but spoken with Petro about election. The official said
Press Thursday. issue with Venezuela but that request drew almost it.Venezuela’s Supreme Tri- this would include the re-
The officials have told Ven- did not provide details. immediate criticism from bunal of Justice is closely lease of voting data and al-
ezuela’s government that Earlier, Mexico President foreign observers who said aligned with Maduro’s lowing independent verifi-
showing the data is the only Andrés Manuel López Ob- the court is too close to the government. The court’s cation. López Obrador said
way to dispel any doubt in rador said he planned to government to produce an justices are proposed by Mexico hopes the will of
the results, said the Brazil- speak with President Luis independent review. federal officials and rati- Venezuela’s people will be
ian official, who asked not Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil It wasn’t clear if Maduro’s fied by the National Assem- respected and that there’s
be identified because they and President Gustavo Pet- first concession to demands bly, which is dominated by no violence. He added
are not authorized to pub- ro of Colombia, and that for more transparency was Maduro sympathizers. that Mexico expects “that
licly speak about the diplo- his government believes it’s the result of the discus- Maduro’s main challenger, the evidence, the electoral
matic efforts. important that the elector- sions with Brazil, Colombia Edmundo González, and results records, be present-
A Mexican official, who al tallies be made public. and Mexico. Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria ed.”
also spoke on condition of On Wednesday, Maduro president confirmed dur- Corina Machado say they Pressure has been building
anonymity, confirmed that asked Venezuela’s high- ing a news conference on obtained more than two- on the president since the
the three governments est court to conduct an Wednesday that he had thirds of the tally sheets election. q

Pakistan’s cultural capital sees record rainfall, flooding streets and

affecting daily life

By BABAR DOGAR hore saw record-high rain- rupting traffic and affect- Islamabad, and other ar- millimeters (14 inches)
Associated Press fall early Thursday, leaving ing daily life, officials said, eas. of rainfall in a few hours,
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — at least three people dead, as the death toll from rain- The latest spell of rains in breaking a 44-year-old re-
Pakistan’s cultural city of La- while flooding streets, dis- related incidents over the Lahore was so heavy that cord in Lahore, according
past month surpassed 100. it quickly flooded many to the water and sanitation
In July, 99 people died in streets and rainwater en- agency. In a statement, it
rain-related incidents and tered some wards in the said efforts were underway
most of the deaths were Jinnah and Services hospi- to pump rainwater off of
reported in eastern Punjab tals in the capital of Punjab main roads. Drainage sys-
and northwestern Khyber province, causing prob- tems quickly became over-
Pakhtunkhwa provinces, lems for patients undergo- whelmed after the rains,
the National Disaster Man- ing treatment there. flooding several residential
agement Authority said. At least one person died areas, officials said. The
The latest spell of down- after being electrocuted rainwater entered scores
pours started before dawn in the Nishat Colony neigh- of homes in various parts of
and is expected to contin- borhood. A 14-year-old the city, residents said.
ue for a week at intervals, boy drowned in a flooded Monsoon rains have re-
according to the NDMA. In street and a 5-year-old girl turned to Pakistan as the
an advisory, it said the rains died after falling from the country is still struggling to
are likely to cause flash roof of her house, police recover from devastating
Motorcyclists drive through a flooded road caused by heavy flooding and landslides. said. 2022 floods that affected
monsoon rainfall in Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. The monsoon rains also Some areas in the city re- 33 million people and killed
Associated Press lashed Pakistan’s capital, ceived a record-high 353 1,739. q