Nicolas Maduro, aged 61, has been declared the winner of Venezuela’s presidential election, receiving 51% of the vote compared to 44% for opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez, according to the National Electoral Council (CNE).
Elvis Amoroso, the head of the electoral authority, made the announcement early Monday, stating that the results are based on 80% of voting stations.
In his victory speech, Maduro promised that his reelection would bring peace to Venezuela and assured that fascism “will not happen” in the country.
“The voice of peace has triumphed, and there will be peace, peace, and peace for our country,” he declared.
The opposition, led by Maria Corina Machado, has rejected the results, calling them “an outrage against the truth.”
The opposition argues that the CNE’s results do not match the actual votes cast. Several exit polls during the day indicated a win for opposition candidate Gonzalez, and they have criticized the six-hour delay in announcing the official results.
Machado claimed that Gonzalez received 70% of the vote in the election.“We want the entire world to know that we won in every sector and every state across the country. We are fully aware of what transpired today. We have diligently collected and reported all the information, and it confirms the results. This is indisputable,” she stated.
Several countries, including the US, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, have called for free elections in Venezuela. Following the announcement of the results, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed “serious concerns” about the accuracy of the election outcome.
“We have serious concerns that the announced result does not reflect the true will or the votes of the Venezuelan people,” Blinken said during his visit to Japan.
