Venezuela’s Maduro and Opposition Both Declare Presidential Victory

 

Venezuela faces international scrutiny as both President Nicolas Maduro and opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez have declared victory in Venezuela’s presidential election. This has triggered global doubts about the validity of the official election results. The election was held on Sunday.

The National Electoral Authority, which is allegedly controlled by Maduro loyalists, announced shortly after midnight that Maduro secured a third term with 51% of the vote to 44% for González.

The delay in official results—six hours after polls closed—has fueled scepticism and led the opposition to reject Maduro’s presidential win.

According to opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, independent exit polls suggest a landslide victory for Gonzalez, who reportedly received 70% of the vote. The Council was criticised for not releasing the tallies from each of the 30,000 polling booths nationwide, only promising to do so in the “coming hours,” hampering the ability to verify the results.

The election period was marked by tension and sporadic violence, including a fatal incident in Tachira state and confrontations at polling sites in Caracas, reported Reuters. Police intervened to disperse a protest in Catia, a stronghold of Maduro’s supporters. The election results held heavy implications for Venezuela’s future. Amid an ongoing economic crisis and mass emigration, opposition leaders and supporters hoped that a change in leadership could restore stability. The country, grappling with severe inflation and widespread shortages, has been yearning for economic and political reform.

International reaction has been swift. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and several Latin American leaders, including Chile’s Gabriel Boric and Guatemala’s Bernardo Arevalo, expressed concerns about the credibility of the results. Blinken stated, “We have serious concerns that the results announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people.”

Blinken criticised the Venezuelan National Electoral Authority, questioning its independence and alleging it serves as an extension of Maduro’s government. Maduro’s previous re-election in 2018 has been widely denounced as fraudulent by the international community.