Venezuela's Maduro claims victory amid widespread criticism of intransparent presidential election
After more than six hours of waiting following the closing of the polling stations, the National Electoral Council of Venezuela (CNE) announced the results for Sunday's presidential election.
According to the CNE, with 80% of the tables counted, the official leader Nicolás Maduro purportedly obtained 51.20% of the votes, while the opposition candidate Edmundo González received 44.2%. The results were widely criticized as very unlikely and lacking transparency.
The results, therefore, suggest that Maduro has been reelected for a second six-year term as president of Venezuela and would govern until 2031.
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In a triumphant speech, Maduro said the people's will had been fulfilled and, true to his populist style, he started by praising God. “My first thought goes to the Father Creator … our Father who art in Heaven, thank you for giving this victory to the people of Venezuela,” Maduro said after the CNE announced the results.
In his remarks, Maduro said “the people of Venezuela are a Christian people. We are the people of Christ,” and added, “I want to thank all the Christians for their prayers, for their blessings, for their love.”
Immediately after Maduro's speech, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado spoke out, along with opposition candidate Edmundo González.
Machado said the results according to the data received by her campaign directly from her prosecutors completely contradicted those issued by the CNE. “This has been so overwhelming, so great, that we have won in all the states of the country,” said Machado. According to her, opposition candidate Edmundo González won the election with 70% of the votes, against 30% for Maduro and, what is more, this would have been the largest margin of victory in any presidential election in Venezuela.
González, who was widely expected to win, said that "all the rules have been violated here ... our message of reconciliation and peaceful change remains valid. Our struggle continues and we will not rest until the will of the people of Venezuela is respected."
Media reports highlighted a wide range of irregularities, most importantly that key voting stations refused to release paper tallies that could be used to verify the digital results. Maduro also caused alarm in the lead up to Sunday's election when he threatened a “bloodbath” if the loses, as Christian Daily International reported earlier.
Various heads of state and other figures from the American continent reacted to what happened in Venezuela on Sunday night. Political leaders from both the right and the left agreed on the need for transparency in the election results.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric, a leftist, posted a message X doubting the results issued by the CNE. “The Maduro regime must understand that the results it publishes are difficult to believe. The international community and above all the Venezuelan people … demand total transparency of the minutes and the process and that international observers not compromised with the government account for the veracity of the results,” Boric said.
The Chilean president added that for the time being, his government will not acknowledge Maduro's victory, saying, “from Chile, we will not recognize any result that is not verifiable.”
From Uruguay, right-wing President Luis Lacalle Pou used even stronger terms, commenting, "Not like that! It was an open secret. They were going to 'win' regardless of the real results. The process up to the day of the election and the counting of votes was clearly flawed. You cannot recognize a victory if you do not trust the way and the mechanisms used to achieve it."
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo said, "Venezuela deserves transparent, accurate results that are in line with the will of its people. We received the results announced by the CNE with many doubts. Therefore, the reports from the electoral observation missions are essential, which today more than ever, must defend the vote of the Venezuelans."
In the United States, government officials and political leaders also expressed their doubts and called on Venezuelan authorities to publish the voting records.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is in Japan for an official visit, expressed "serious concerns that the announced result does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people."
Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said, "The Maduro regime and every one of its thugs should know that the world, and in particular the United States, is watching tonight and will keep them in custody."
Similarly, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said: "After announcing complete fraud in the election, expect the Maduro regime to now shut down the Internet inside Venezuela to make it difficult for those inside to communicate with each other and the world."
Originally reported by Diario Cristiano, Christian Daily International's Spanish edition.
