The Organization of American States’ (OAS) election observation department announced on Tuesday that it cannot recognize the results declared by Venezuela’s national electoral council (CNE), which proclaimed President Nicolas Maduro the winner of Sunday’s contested election.

The 35-member regional body is set to meet about Venezuela on Wednesday and stated that the CNE exhibited clear bias towards the government. According to the CNE, Maduro secured 51% of the votes. However, the opposition, with access to 73% of the vote tallies, asserted that its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, received more than twice the number of votes as Maduro.

The disputed results have triggered protests across Venezuela, with the United States and several Latin American leaders rejecting the results and calling for greater transparency. The OAS report highlighted a “coordinated strategy” to undermine the electoral process’s integrity, which has been unfolding over recent months.

The report detailed numerous illegalities and malpractices in the current and previous Venezuelan elections. It emphasized, “The evidence shows an effort by the regime to ignore the will of the majority expressed in the polls by millions of Venezuelan men and women.” It criticized the CNE and the Venezuelan electoral system for serving the executive power rather than the citizens.

In contrast, President Maduro maintains that Venezuela possesses the best and most transparent voting system globally, accusing violent right-wing factions of attempting to overthrow him illegally with foreign support. Maduro’s administration has received backing from China, Russia, and some left-leaning Latin American nations.

The OAS concluded that, without public documentary support for the announced election results, they could not be trusted or recognized. The upcoming meeting of the OAS will likely further address the implications of this disputed election and explore potential actions to support electoral integrity in Venezuela.