Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has won a third term with 51 percent of the vote, the country’s electoral authority said just after midnight on Monday, despite multiple exit polls which pointed to an opposition win. The authority said opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez won 44 percent of the vote, though the opposition had earlier said it had “reasons to celebrate” and asked supporters to continue monitoring vote counts.
- The authority said opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez won 44 percent of the vote
- Maduro, appearing at the presidential palace before cheering supporters, said his reelection is a triumph of peace and stability
- Nicolas Maduro, 61, is declared the winner in Venezuela’s presidential election by the electoral authority, setting up a high-stakes showdown that will determine whether the South American nation transitions away from one-party rule.
- Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, banned from running for office, said opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez won 70 percent of the vote and urged the military to “respect the will of the people”.
UK joins sceptics over election result
The UK’s Foreign Office says it’s concerned over “serious irregularities” in the electoral counting process of the Venezuelan election and called for the publication of detailed results.
“We call for the swift and transparent publication of full, detailed results to ensure that the outcome reflects the votes of the Venezuelan people.”
Kamala Harris: ‘Will of the Venezuelan people must be respected’
The US vice president offered her support for Venezuelans as the fallout from the disputed election plays out.
“The United States stands with the people of Venezuela who expressed their voice in today’s historic presidential election,” Harris said. “The will of the Venezuelan people must be respected.”
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In Venezuela, both Nicolas Maduro and the main opposition leaders have claimed victory in presidential elections. Here are the latest updates:
- Elvis Amoroso, head of the National Electoral Council and an ally of Maduro, said the president secured 51 percent of the vote with challenger Edmundo Gonzalez taking 44 percent.
- However, the electoral body has yet to release official voting tallies from 30,000 polling centres, hampering the opposition’s ability to verify the results.
- Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was barred from running for office, disputed the results saying Gonzalez won 70 percent of the vote.
- Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States has “serious concerns” that the result “announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people”.
- Maduro said the voting system “suffered cyberattacks, we suffered massive hacking. We know which country is behind it but I won’t mention it”.
- A number of other countries demanded the release of official vote data, including Spain, Italy, Chile, Argentina and Colombia. Welcoming the results were China, Russia, Cuba, Bolivia and Honduras, among others.
Colombia urges ‘any doubts’ be cleared after controversial vote
Colombia Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo pressed authorities to ensure there’s transparency in the election results to quickly verify the disputed outcome.
“After maintaining permanent contact with all political actors involved in the presidential elections … we consider it essential that the voices of all sectors be heard,” said Murillo.
“It is important to clear any doubts about the results… We call for the total vote count, its verification, and independent audit to be carried out as soon as possible.”
President Gustavo Petro has criticised the disqualification of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado from the race, saying he experienced the same during Colombia elections and called it an “anti-democratic coup”.
Maduro, appearing at the presidential palace before cheering supporters, said his reelection is a triumph of peace and stability and reiterated his campaign trail assertion that Venezuela’s electoral system is transparent.
A poll from Edison Research, known for its polling of US elections, had predicted in an exit poll that Gonzalez would win 65 percent of the vote, while Maduro would win 31 percent.
Local firm Meganalisis predicted a 65 percent vote for Gonzalez and just under 14 percent for Maduro.
About 80 percent of ballot boxes have been counted, said national electoral council (CNE) president Elvis Amoroso in a televised statement, adding results had been delayed because of an “aggression” against the electoral data transmission system.
The CNE has asked the attorney general to investigate the “terrorist actions” Amoroso said, adding participation was 59 percent.
The opposition had earlier said voters had chosen a change after 25 years of socialist party rule.
“The results cannot be hidden. The country has peacefully chosen a change,” Gonzalez said in a post on X at around 11 p.m. local time, before the results were announced.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado reiterated a call for the country’s military to uphold the results of the vote.
“A message for the military. The people of Venezuela have spoken: they don’t want Maduro,” she said earlier on X. “It is time to put yourselves on the right side of history. You have a chance and it’s now.”
Venezuela’s military has always supported Maduro, a 61-year-old former bus driver and foreign minister, and there have been no public signs that leaders of the armed forces are breaking from the government.
