Nicolás Maduro, the President of Venezuela, was declared the victor of the recent presidential election held on Sunday, having garnered over 50% of the votes, although the opposition argues that these results are not trustworthy.
The National Electoral Council reported around midnight that Maduro achieved 51% of the votes, while the leading opposition candidate, Edmundo González, received 44%, according to The Associated Press.
Elvis Amoroso, the head of the National Electoral Council, stated that these results were based on 80% of the voting stations and indicated an irreversible trend.
While Maduro has been proclaimed as the winner for a third term, the opposition declared their own victory, creating a confrontation with the government over the election results.
EXPERTS FEAR VENEZUELA’S MADURO COULD MANIPULATE SUNDAY’S ELECTION AS OPPOSITION LEADS IN POLLING
President Nicolás Maduro adjusts his glasses as he casts his vote in the presidential elections in Caracas, Venezuela, on Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP)
The electoral authority, aligned with Maduro’s supporters, did not promptly release results from all 30,000 polling stations nationwide, hindering the opposition’s ability to contest the results while claiming to only possess data for about 30% of the voting locations.
“The Venezuelans and the entire world know what transpired,” González declared.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado asserted that González’s lead was “overwhelming.” She conveyed that the opposition had obtained voting results from around 40% of voting centers and was expecting more data overnight.
Officials and legislators from the U.S. and other nations expressed doubts regarding the authenticity of Venezuela’s presidential election results following Maduro’s announcement as the winner.
In a statement made in Tokyo, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken articulated that the U.S. has “serious concerns” regarding the professed outcome.
Blinken expressed that the U.S. feared the results did not reflect the true will or votes of the Venezuelan population and called for election officials to promptly disclose the complete results. He also mentioned that the U.S. and the international community would respond appropriately.
VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS’ GRAVE CRIMES SURFACE AS MADURO DISREGARDS REQUESTS TO REINSTATE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM THE U.S.
The opposition’s presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez waves as he exits the polling station accompanied by his wife Mercedes Lopez and daughter Mariana after voting in Caracas, Venezuela, on Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio commented on the platform X, stating that the “Maduro regime in #Venezuela has just executed the most predictable and absurd sham election in modern history.”
Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font also took to X to emphasize that “the release of the results from this crucial election in Venezuela must be transparent, timely, and fully represent the popular will expressed at the polls.”
“The international community, including Chile, will not accept anything less,” he added.
Opposition representatives within Venezuela reported that their collected tallies from campaign officials at 30% of voting sites indicated that González outperformed the president.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
