\n<\/p>\n
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) \u2014 Diplomatic efforts are underway to persuade President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/a> to release vote tallies<\/a> from Venezuela’s presidential election,<\/a> after opposition leaders disputed his claim of victory<\/a> and amid increasing calls for an independent review of the results, according to officials from Brazil and M\u00e9xico.<\/p>\n Government officials from Brazil, Colombia and Mexico have been in constant communication with Maduro’s administration to convince him that he must show the vote tally sheets from Sunday’s election and allow impartial verification, a Brazilian government official told The Associated Press Thursday.<\/p>\n The officials have told Venezuela’s government that showing the data is the only way to dispel any doubt in the results, said the Brazilian official, who asked not be identified because they are not authorized to publicly speak about the diplomatic efforts.<\/p>\n A Mexican official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the three governments have been discussing the issue with Venezuela but did not provide details. Earlier, Mexico President Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador said he planned to speak with President Luis In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva of Brazil and President Gustavo Petro<\/a><\/span><\/span> of Colombia, and that his government believes it’s important that the electoral tallies be made public.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Maduro asked Venezuela\u2019s highest court to conduct an audit<\/a> of the election, but that request drew almost immediate criticism from foreign observers<\/a> who said the court is too close to the government to produce an independent review.<\/p>\n It wasn’t clear if Maduro’s first concession to demands for more transparency was the result of the discussions with Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. Venezuela’s president confirmed during a news conference on Wednesday that he had spoken with Petro about it.<\/p>\n Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice is closely aligned with Maduro’s government. The court\u2019s justices are proposed by federal officials and ratified by the National Assembly, which is dominated by Maduro sympathizers.<\/p>\n Maduro\u2019s main challenger, Edmundo Gonz\u00e1lez<\/a>, and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado<\/a> say they obtained more than two-thirds of the tally sheets<\/a> that each electronic voting machine printed after polls closed. They said the release of the data on those tallies would prove Maduro lost<\/a>.<\/p>\n Asked why electoral authorities have not released detailed vote counts, Maduro said the National Electoral Council has come under attack, including cyber-attacks, without elaborating.<\/p>\n The presidents of Colombia and Brazil \u2014 both close allies of the Venezuelan government \u2014 have urged Maduro to release detailed vote counts.<\/p>\n The Brazilian official said the diplomatic efforts are only intended to promote dialogue among Venezuelan stakeholders to negotiate a solution to the disputed election. The official said this would include the release of voting data and allowing independent verification.<\/p>\n L\u00f3pez Obrador said Mexico hopes the will of Venezuela\u2019s people will be respected and that there’s no violence. He added that Mexico expects \u201cthat the evidence, the electoral results records, be presented.\u201d<\/p>\n Pressure has been building on the president since the election.<\/p>\n The National Electoral Council, which is loyal to Maduro’s United Socialist Party of Venezuela, has yet to release any results broken down by voting machine, as it did in past elections.<\/p>\n The electoral council reported that Maduro received 5.1 million votes, versus more than 4.4 million for Gonz\u00e1lez. But Machado, the opposition leader, has said vote tallies show Gonz\u00e1lez received roughly 6.2 million votes compared with 2.7 million for Maduro.<\/p>\n Venezuela has the world\u2019s largest proven crude reserves<\/a> and once boasted Latin America\u2019s most advanced economy, but it entered into free fall after Maduro took the helm in 2013. Plummeting oil prices, widespread shortages and hyperinflation that soared past 130,000% led to social unrest and mass emigration<\/a>.<\/p>\n More than 7.7 million Venezuelans have left the country<\/a> since 2014, the largest exodus<\/a> in Latin America\u2019s recent history.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n S\u00e1 Pessoa reported from Sao Paulo. The Associated Press correspondent Mar\u00eda Verza contributed to this report from Mexico City<\/p>\n<\/div>\n