The U.N.’s preeminent human rights watchdog declared its intention to probe the country after its controversial July presidential election. As part of the process, Venezuela was ordered not to eliminate or destroy any voting records, tally sheets, or any material related to the election that would reveal a tabulation of the results, the Associated Press reported. 

The U.N.’s decision to proceed with the audit of Venezuela’s election was announced in a letter to multiple law officials in Central and South America who petitioned the U.N. to intervene in October after Maduro refused to step down or provide evidence from the election supporting his claim of victory. The petitioners claimed that Maduro committed “election fraud” and violated the “political rights of millions of Venezuelans,” according to the Associated Press.

The international community has rejected Maduro’s claims of victory and pushed the Venezuelan authoritarian to publish official election ballots and tallies. He has refused to do so. Even though the country’s National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner on July 28, it widely believed this claim was corrupt and the result of the Maduro regime’s power and influence. 

Thus far, the international community has attempted soft power to get Maduro to step down. It has not worked. The U.S., European Union, Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia have all requested Maduro’s government to post the election results, as was customary in Venezuela before this year’s election. However, Maduro’s regime continued to refuse to do so. 

Paulo Abrao, one of the lawyers responsible for the petition to the U.N., asserted that Maduro has been trying to metaphorically “run out the clock” with hopes that the world would forget about Venezuela’s election, get distracted by other events, and ultimately move on. Abrao said the world could not permit such a tragedy to occur or “normalize its nebulous electoral process,” the Associated Press reported.

“We cannot allow that to happen,” Abrao told the Associated Press. “Now there is a formal case being processed in an international body with binding force. Venezuela has the obligation to comply with the decision.”