CARACAS, Venezuela: Venezuela’s opposition coalition rejected the election victory claimed by President Nicolas Maduro and announced by a loyalist electoral authority. The opposition stated that their candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, won 70 percent of the vote, contrary to the 44 percent reported by the electoral authority.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado declared Gonzalez Urrutia as the new president-elect and emphasized that they had won the election. The announcement came after the electoral council reported Maduro’s re-election with 51.2 percent of votes cast.
The accuracy of the announced election results has drawn “serious concerns” from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who hinted that they might not accurately reflect the people’s will in Venezuela. Blinken emphasized the significance of a fair and transparent vote counting process and asked electoral authorities to swiftly provide full vote tabulations and share information with the opposition.
Independent polls had anticipated that the election would end 25 years of “Chavismo,” the populist movement initiated by Maduro’s predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez. The international community is closely monitoring the situation, with calls for transparency and fair counting of all votes.
