The National Electoral Council of Venezuela reported that Nicolás Maduro garnered about 51.2 percent while his nearest competitor, Edmundo González, had about 44.2 percent of the votes. The results were released just before midnight with the results coming from around 80 percent of voting stations from around the country. However, opposition groups have rejected these results strongly, arguing that they did not reflect the real desire of the Venezuelan people.
Opposition delegates said their own reports, gathered from polling centers, said González convincingly defeated Maduro. Some of their estimates even suggested he could have won by as much as 70%. The statements from the Maduro administration have fueled claims of vote tampering and manipulation.
Claims of electoral fraud
These elections were characterized by more than a six-hour delay in announcing the results after the close of polls, something that has raised a storm of suspicion among opposition leaders and international observers over the integrity of the electoral process. Opponents say that the CNE, perceived to be under the firm control of President Maduro, has manipulated the results to suit the interest of the ruling party.
One of the opposition leaders, Maria Corina Machado, banned from running, has come forward to say that the fraud is clear. According to her, the opposition’s attempt at monitoring the election clearly showed González with an outstanding victory. This claim is in stark contrast to what the government say happened. Similar suspicions are aired by analysts and international observers: the numbers announced by the government would appear more in the order of fantasy and do not square with the data from the pre-election polls.
International reaction
The international community has responded skeptically to the announced results. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed grave concerns that the results do not reflect the will of the people of Venezuela; he called for a transparent counting process and urged electoral authorities to publish detailed vote tallies to ensure accountability.
The government of Chile, among others, has withheld recognition of the results, as President Gabriel Boric seeks to impress that it would not accept any result lacking verifiability. It has put the political landscape of Venezuela under scrutiny while the opposition is gearing up to contest the results in national and international forums.
Maduro reacts
To Maduro, the election result was a victory for peace and stability in Venezuela. He further boasted about trust in the electoral system, terming it transparent and free. On the part of Maduro, his election campaign was operated on the theme of economic security, in which it tried to convince people that his government had made progress toward stabilizing the economy despite widespread poverty and hyperinflation plaguing the nation since years ago.
The Maduro regime has been dogged with accusations of human rights abuses, political repression, and economic mismanagement. Millions of the nation’s nationals have fled the dire living conditions, and many point to it being the worst humanitarian crisis in the region.
