Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro claimed victory in the country’s presidential election on Monday morning, while the opposition said its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez had emerged victorious and had the votes to prove it.
What happened to the count?
The country’s electoral authority (CNE) said just after midnight on Monday that Maduro had won a third six-year term with 51% of the vote.
Officials said Gonzalez received 44% of the vote, but opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said opposition candidate Gonzalez received 70% of the vote and that multiple independent exit polls and quick counts indicated a clear victory.
Gonzalez said he was not calling on supporters to take to the streets or commit any kind of violence, and Machado said the opposition had copies of about 40% of voting records.
Edison Research, known for surveying US elections, predicted in an exit poll that Gonzalez would get 65% of the vote, while Maduro would get 31%.
Local firm Meganálisis predicted 65% of the vote for González and about 14% for Maduro.
Was the voting peaceful?
The government said the voting was peaceful except for some sporadic incidents.
Motorcycle-riding ruling party supporters, known as “collectivos”, briefly clashed with opposition supporters in the evening outside a school in central Caracas, the country’s biggest polling place.
Armed groups were reported in at least six other locations, according to a local NGO, and one man was shot dead during a clash with members of the group in the border state of Tachira.
The tense campaign saw the arrests of opposition leaders and other moves by authorities that the opposition said were aimed at preventing a fair election.
Maduro, a former bus driver who was elected successor to his mentor Hugo Chavez, has been in power since Chavez’s death in 2013.
His government has suffered a sharp economic and social decline. The United States reimposed oil sanctions in April, accusing Maduro of reneging on agreements made with the opposition to ensure free elections.
Who is Gonzalez?
A long-time member of the opposition but little-known, 74-year-old former diplomat Gonzalez is known for his quiet demeanor.
He was originally registered as a placeholder in March, after neither primary winner Machado nor his alternate were able to register. In April, he was nominated as the opposition’s deciding candidate.
Machado, 56, has thrown herself into campaigning for Gonzalez.
Addressing large crowds across the country, both made emotional remarks, including their hope for the return home of many who have fled Venezuela in recent years.
What was the international response?
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that the US has serious concerns that the results announced by the election authority do not reflect the votes of the people. He asked for a detailed report of the votes to be published.
Meanwhile, reactions from Latin American leaders were mixed.
Argentine President Javier Milla denounced the official result as fraudulent, while Costa Rica and Peru rejected it and Chile said it would not accept any result that was not verifiable.
Cuba, Honduras and Bolivia celebrated Maduro’s victory.
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