CARACAS, (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro has secured a third term in office after triumphing in the July 28 presidential vote.
The first bulletin published by the country’s National Electoral Council (CNE) announced an “irreversible trend” in favor of Maduro, with 51.2 percent of the vote compared to 44.2 percent for his main rival, opposition candidate Edmundo González.
The presidential contest had a turnout of 59 percent. The first bulletin was delivered with 80 percent of voting centers tallied.
“We call on everyone to respect the Constitution and the laws, and to respect the will of the people,” stated CNE president Elvis Amoroso in a press conference on Sunday at midnight. He added that results were delayed by an “attack on the transmission system” and urged authorities to investigate.
A second bulletin and the detailed results broken down by voting center are expected in the coming hours.
Maduro joined jubilant crowds outside Miraflores Presidential Palace and claimed the election was “a victory for national independence.”
“Fascism shall not pass in the land of Bolívar and Chávez,” he told supporters. “This is a triumph for peace, for stability and for our Republic.” He called on the United States and other international actors to respect the outcome and not interfere in the Caribbean nation’s internal affairs.
The president dedicated the victory to former president Hugo Chávez, who would have celebrated his 70th birthday on Sunday. “The Venezuelan people have never failed you!” Maduro said.
Far-right politician María Corina Machado, who led the opposition campaign efforts, told reporters that González was Venezuela’s new president-elect and that he had won in all states. “We had an overwhelming victory and everyone knows it,” she affirmed, called on followers to “defend the truth” and stated that the armed forces should “ensure the results are respected.”
Maduro’s victory was promptly greeted by several Latin American leaders, including Bolivian, Honduran and Cuban presidents Luis Arce, Xiomara Castro and Miguel Díaz-Canel, respectively. The ALBA Movimientos platform, which brings together social organizations across the continent, hailed Maduro’s triumph and its prospects of “continuing [Venezuela’s] revolutionary process.”
Venezuelan allies Russia and China likewise congratulated the Venezuelan president on his reelection, with both governments expressing their will to continue deepening cooperation.
In contrast, the Biden administration did not recognize the electoral results, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressing “serious concerns” that they “do not represent the will of the Venezuelan people.”
Chilean president Gabriel Boric tweeted that the results were “hard to believe” and demanded “transparency” in the process. His Argentinian counterpart Javier Milei had launched a tirade on social media even before the CNE announcement, claiming that his government “would not recognize fraud.”
The Brazilian government has reportedly asked the Carter Center and a UN expert panel currently accompanying the Venezuelan elections to analyze the voting totals once they are published.
