Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has been declared the winner of a third term, according to the country’s electoral authority. Despite several exit polls suggesting a decisive opposition victory, the National Electoral Council’s head, Elvis Amoroso, announced that Maduro secured 51% of the vote against his opponent Edmundo Gonzalez’s 44%.
The announcement was met with immediate skepticism and criticism. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and Gonzalez claimed victory based on preliminary tallies from around 40% of ballot boxes, asserting that Gonzalez’s margin was “overwhelming.” Gonzalez emphasized, “Venezuelans and the entire world know what happened.”
The electoral authority, controlled by Maduro loyalists, delayed releasing official tallies from all 30,000 polling stations, complicating the opposition’s efforts to challenge the results. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for transparency, urging the electoral authorities to publish detailed vote tabulations. “It’s critical that every vote be counted fairly and transparently,” Blinken stated, expressing serious concerns over the announced results.
Reactions across the region varied. Chile’s President Gabriel Boric and Guatemala’s President Bernardo Arevalo expressed doubts about the legitimacy of the results, while Cuba, Honduras, and Bolivia’s presidents welcomed Maduro’s re-election.
Maduro’s victory proclamation included a call for peace and stability, reiterating his confidence in the transparency of Venezuela’s electoral system. However, the controversy surrounding the election outcome has intensified the ongoing political divide in the country.
