Venezuela's Supreme Court Awaits Election Evidence

Venezuela's supreme court said that it had not received evidence from the opposition coalition in the disputed July 28 presidential elections and warned that its decision in determining the winner would be final.

The South American nation's elections authority, which the opposition claims is loyal to President Nicolas Maduro, declared the leader had won re-election, while the opposition argued its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, won.

The electoral authority has not released a detailed vote count from the elections and its website has been down since the early hours of July 29.

Maduro appealed to the supreme court last week to verify the electoral results, leading the court to summon all candidates who had run.

Gonzalez did not attend, saying he would be at risk of arrest if he went.

"Edmundo Gonzalez did not comply with the consignment of the tally sheets in the list of witnesses or any electoral material", Chief Justice Caryslia Rodriguez told journalists and diplomats.

The justice said that once the election investigation was concluded, the court's ruling would be "unappealable and compliance will be mandatory."

Brazil, Colombia and Mexico published a joint statement urging the electoral body to publicly present a detailed vote count.

Other Latin American nations, as well as the United States, have rejected Maduro's win. Ally nations Russia and China have congratulated him.

Meanwhile hundreds of Venezuelans gathered at a revolution monument in Mexico City to protest controversial election results that awarded Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro a third term in office.

In Venezuela, security forces have launched a crackdown on what authorities say are violent criminals, with Maduro touting more than 2,000 arrests.

Maduro has claimed a 51% victory in last month's election, while the political opposition maintains its candidate won by millions of votes. Venezuela's electoral authority has yet to release detailed vote tallies.