Biden, Lula press Venezuela to publish election tallies

By Lisandra Paraguassu

BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday they agreed the Venezuelan government must quickly publish the vote tallies of Sunday's contested election to end the crisis in the oil-producing country.

"The two leaders agreed on the need for immediate release of full, transparent, and detailed voting data," the White House said in a statement.

A Brazilian official who listened in to the 30-minute call requested by the White House said Lula insisted that both countries wait for the release of the tallies before taking a final position on the election.

"The conversation showed Brazil and the United States have similar positions that access to the vote tallies is indispensable," the source said.

In Venezuela, protesters took to streets, waving flags and demanding President Nicolas Maduro acknowledge he lost Sunday's election to an opposition that claimed it clinched a landslide victory.

In Washington, the Biden administration said electoral manipulation had stripped Maduro's claim of reelection victory of "any credibility," and Washington left the door open to fresh sanctions on the OPEC nation.

Venezuela must release vote tallies to "resolve the dispute," Lula said in an interview with a TV Globo affiliate, adding that if they confirmed Maduro's victory, that result would have to be recognized.

Lula briefed Biden on the situation in Venezuela as reported to him by his former foreign minister Celso Amorim, his foreign affairs adviser whom he sent to Caracas to follow the election.

The source said an open channel will continue between Brasilia and the White House on the Venezuelan crisis.

Earlier, two Brazilian sources told Reuters the call was scheduled at the request of the U.S. government as it seeks Brazil's assessment of the election results in neighboring Venezuela.

Venezuela's national electoral authority proclaimed Maduro winner of the weekend vote, giving him a third term in office, but the opposition has also claimed victory.

Independent pollsters called Maduro's win implausible, as opposition leaders and foreign observers urged vote tallies to be released.

Brazil's government on Monday hailed what it called a "peaceful" election day in Venezuela and said it was closely monitoring the vote count, waiting for electoral authorities to release vote tallies to ensure the legitimacy of results.

(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu; writing by Luana Maria Benedito and Anthony Boadle; editing by Gabriel Araujo and David Gregorio)