Venezuela’s National Electoral Council on Monday officially declared authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro the winner of Sunday’s controversial presidential elections, as opposition figures rejected the result and global leaders expressed concern.
According to official data, Maduro received 51.2% of the vote, with opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia receiving 44.2%.
Leftist Maduro is now set to begin his third six-year term as president in January 2025.
The result was met with strong criticism from opposition figures in Venezuela and international leaders, with several Latin American countries expressing doubts about the legitimacy of Maduro’s victory.
The leader of the Venezuelan opposition, María Corina Machado, who was banned from holding public office for 15 years due to alleged irregularities during her time as a member of parliament, stated that the opposition obtained 70% of the votes.
“We won and the whole world knows it,” she told reporters.
The 56-year-old industrial engineer referred to post-election polls and four independent projections, as well as the actual results of the count. “This is the largest margin of victory in history,” she said.
Corina Machado was seen as the driving force behind González’s candidacy. The 74-year-old diplomat was until then practically unknown in the country.
“Venezuelans and the whole world know what happened today on election day,” he said.
Concerns before vote counting
Before the vote, few observers inside or outside Venezuela expected free and fair elections.
In the run-up to election day, several opposition members were detained and candidates critical of the government were not allowed to run.
The European Union was not represented with observers at the vote, as Venezuela’s electoral authority revoked an invitation due to existing personal sanctions against CNE representatives.
According to Panamanian authorities, four former Latin American presidents were prevented from traveling to observe Friday’s elections.
Although the United Nations sent some electoral experts, their roles were limited, as the body does not make public statements to evaluate the electoral process.
A total of around 21.6 million people were able to vote, including those abroad.
Ten candidates ran in the presidential election, with several pre-election opinion polls placing González ahead of Maduro, who has been in charge of the South American country for 11 turbulent years.
US has “serious concerns” about results
Hours after the CNE’s announcement proclaiming Maduro the winner, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on a visit to Japan, questioned the results.
“We have serious concerns that the announced result does not reflect the will or votes of the Venezuelan people,” Blinken said, according to US media reports on Monday.
He called on the electoral commission to publish the full results and “immediately share information with the opposition and independent observers”.
He added: “The international community is watching this closely and will respond accordingly.”
Chile and Guatemala express doubts regarding put on congratulates Maduro
“The Maduro regime must realize that the results it publishes are difficult to believe,” Chilean President Gabriel Boric wrote on social media platform X.
“Chile will not recognize any result that is not verifiable,” he added.
His Guatemalan counterpart, Bernardo Arévalo, wrote: “We received the results announced by the CNE with great doubts.”
Other left-leaning Latin American leaders were quick to congratulate Maduro, including the heads of state of Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia and Honduras. China did it too.
“China and Venezuela are good friends and supportive partners,” said a Foreign Ministry spokesman in Beijing.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also celebrated Maduro’s re-election. In a letter published by the Kremlin, Putin conveyed his “warmest congratulations.”
“Russian-Venezuelan relations have the character of a strategic partnership. I am convinced that his actions as head of state will continue to allow progressive development in all directions,” Putin continued.
“Remember that you are always a welcome guest in Russia,” Putin wrote in his letter.
Venezuela falls into poverty under Maduro
Maduro’s last electoral victory in 2018 was widely criticized as undemocratic and not recognized internationally by many countries.
His tenure saw an economic collapse – including hyperinflation, severe shortages of goods and a drop in oil production – that led to some 7.7 million Venezuelans fleeing abroad, according to the United Nations.
More than 80% of the population lives below the poverty line.
He has also cracked down on the opposition, with UN investigators accusing the government of serious human rights violations, including thousands of murders by security forces.
Maduro, a former trade unionist and bus driver, was elected president for the first time in April 2013, following the death of his predecessor Hugo Chávez, under whom he had served as vice president.
But despite economic turmoil and US-backed attempts to oust him, Maduro managed to remain in power.
