Nicolás Maduro, the President of Venezuela, is widely thought to have unlawfully secured victory in Sunday’s election, thus ensuring an additional six-year term. Several regional governments have expressed skepticism regarding the official vote count, which indicated Maduro received 51.2% of the vote with 80% of polling stations reporting.
The opposition claims the results are inaccurate, asserting that they won with 70% of the vote.
Polls conducted during the summer consistently indicated that opposition candidate Edmundo González was leading by double-digit margins.
Upon the National Electoral Council’s announcement around midnight that Maduro attained 51% of the vote against González’s 44%, Elvis Amoroso, the head of the Council, stated that the results were based on 80% of voting stations and reflected an irreversible trend.
In spite of Maduro being declared the victor for a third term, the opposition has proclaimed victory, prompting a potential confrontation with the government regarding the election results.
EXPERTS WORRY MADURO MIGHT MANIPULATE SUNDAY’S ELECTION AS OPPOSITION LEADS IN POLLING
President Nicolás Maduro adjusts his glasses to cast his vote in the presidential elections held in Caracas, Venezuela, on Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP)
Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla., denounced the election results and criticized the Biden administration’s strategies. “Another foreign policy blunder from the Biden-Harris administration,” he stated on X. “They granted Maduro relief from Trump’s oil sanctions and released his leading money launderer and two convicted drug dealer nephews in exchange for a ‘promise’ to host fair elections monitored by neutral international observers.”
The electoral authority, dominated by Maduro’s supporters, did not promptly publish the results from the 30,000 polling locations nationwide, hindering the opposition’s ability to contest the results, claiming to have data from only about 30% of the ballot boxes.
“The Venezuelans and the entire world understand what transpired,” González asserted.
Opposition figure Maria Corina Machado contended that González’s margin of victory was “overwhelming.” She mentioned that the opposition had collected voting results from about 40% of ballot boxes nationwide, with more expected overnight.
Officials and legislators in the U.S. and beyond expressed doubts about the legitimacy of the Venezuelan presidential election results following Maduro’s declaration as the victor.
A bipartisan coalition of congressional leaders accused Maduro of election fraud:
“As anticipated, dictator Nicolás Maduro has once again manipulated a presidential election. Yet, the narco-regime will never quell the Venezuelan people’s desire to reclaim democracy and experience freedom after years of oppression.”
A supporter of Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado attends a campaign rally in Maracaibo, Zulia state, Venezuela, on July 23, 2024. Venezuela will hold its presidential elections on July 28, 2024. (Raul Arboleda/AFP via Getty Images)
The statement added, “We must focus on unifying the free world in rejecting these fraudulent election results and advocating for the release of over 300 Venezuelans who remain unfairly detained in torture facilities as political prisoners.”
In a statement made in Tokyo on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed the U.S.’s “serious concerns” regarding the announced results.
Blinken indicated that the U.S. feared the outcome did not represent the will of the Venezuelan populace, urging election officials to promptly release the complete results. He also asserted that the U.S. and the global community would act correspondingly.
Later that day, State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel reiterated Blinken’s remarks, stating, “We have serious concerns that this outcome does not reflect the will and votes of the Venezuelan people.”
VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS’ ATROCIOUS CRIMES SURFACE AS MADURO REFUSES TO ACCEPT RETURN OF UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS FROM U.S.
Edmundo Gonzalez, the opposition’s presidential candidate, waves while exiting the polling station with his wife Mercedes Lopez, and their daughter Mariana after casting their votes in the presidential elections held in Caracas, Venezuela, on Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP)
Leaders across the region promptly condemned the election results. Notably, Argentina’s President Javier Milei declared, “Not even (Maduro) believes the electoral fraud he is celebrating. Neither does Argentina. We refuse to acknowledge fraud and call upon the international community to rally in restoring the rule of law in Venezuela. We extend an open invitation to the Venezuelan populace who choose a life of freedom.”
New President of Panama, Jose Raul Mulino, mentioned, “We are halting diplomatic relations until a thorough review of the voting records and computer systems is conducted.”
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Supporters of Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado hold their photographs during a campaign rally in Maracaibo, Zulia state, Venezuela, on July 23, 2024. Venezuela’s presidential elections will take place on July 28, 2024. (Raul Arboleda/AFP via Getty Images)
Reuters further reported that El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele stated, “What we observed yesterday in Venezuela is nothing short of fraud. An ‘election’ where the official outcome bears no resemblance to reality. This is evident to everyone.”
Opposition representatives in Venezuela claimed that their tallies from campaign representatives at 30% of voting centers indicated González defeating the president.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
