Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and the opposition both claimed victory in Sunday’s presidential election, after a vote marked by accusations of fraud from both sides.
Although most exit polls suggested an opposition victory, the Venezuelan government declared Maduro the winner. The official results have drawn the skepticism of the US and other regional countries, amid concerns that Maduro’s victory will reverberate across Latin America.
Results Announcement
The National Electoral Council, the country’s electoral authority, declared that Maduro had secured a third term with 51% of the vote, to 44% for opposition candidate Edmundo González, reported the Associated Press (AP). However, the Electoral Council didn’t release the tallies from each of the polling centers around the country.
On the other hand, the opposition had earlier said it had “reasons to celebrate.” Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said that González won with an “overwhelming” margin, according to the voting tallies she had received from campaign representatives from around 40% of ballot boxes nationwide.
Opposition leaders were celebrating the victory of González online and outside some voting centers before the official announcement came out.
Trading Accusations
In his first remarks after the official results announcement, González said: “The Venezuelans and the entire world know what happened.” He claimed that the rules have been violated during the election.
Machado, the opposition leader, said in a joint press conference with González: “Venezuela has a new president-elect and it is Edmundo Gonzalez. We won and the whole world knows it.”
Meanwhile, Maduro celebrated the results and accused “foreign enemies” of attempting to hack the voting system. “This is not the first time that they have tried to violate the peace of the republic,” he told his supporters celebrating at the presidential palace. Maduro vowed “justice” for those who try to spark violence in Venezuela.
Dire Economic Conditions
Despite possessing the world’s largest proven oil reserves, Venezuela’s economy has entered into a free fall after Maduro took power in 2013. Venezuela, which once was the most advanced economy in Latin America, is now struggling with plummeting oil prices, widespread shortages, and hyperinflation that exceeded 130,000%. This has led to social unrest and forced 7.7 million Venezuelans to leave the country.
After Maduro’s contested reelection in 2018, which Washington and other countries condemned as illegitimate, the US and the EU imposed economic sanctions on the country, further deepening the crisis.
Despite Maduro’s promises of improved economy, most Venezuelans have not seen any improvement in their quality of life, and families struggle to afford essential needs. Many voters said they would leave the country if Maduro won another six-year term.
Opposition leaders have built their campaign on promises to address the huge inequalities stemming from the crisis. Therefore, they focused on Venezuela’s remote areas that lack economic activity. They pledged to create sufficient jobs to encourage Venezuelans living abroad to return.
International Reaction
After the results announcement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed “serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people,” adding that it was “critical” for votes to be counted fairly and transparently.
Similarly, the leaders of Peru, Chile, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Argentina and Uruguay, either condemned or doubted the results. The President of Chile, Gabriel Boric, said: “The Maduro regime should understand that the results it published are difficult to believe. We won’t recognize any result that is not verifiable.”
Meanwhile, some Latin American leaders congratulated Maduro on his victory, including the presidents of Bolivia, Honduras and Cuba, according to CNN.
