The two Venezuela powerful Nicolas Maduro and opposition claim victory in the elections, as US raises’serious concern’
The Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his political opponents both claimed they had taken the presidency on Monday, even as both the United States and multiple regional nations expressed doubt over the official results that favored the powerful leader.
By Jessie Yeung, Tara John, Stefano Pozzebon
July 29, 2024 at 06:50 am
Caracas, Venezuela CNN —
The Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his political opposition both claimed to have been the winner of Monday’s presidential elections, even as several countries including the United States and multiple regional nations expressed doubt about the official results that favored the powerful leader.
In the 80% percent of the votes recorded, Maduro won more than 51% of the votes surpassing incumbentDemocratic United Platform (PUD) candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia who was able to gain nearly 44% of the vote, the highest percentage of votes,according in a report issued by the National Electoral Council (CNE).
The opposition, however, painted a different image of the outcome. Leader of the opposition Maria Corina Machado said in a press conference that own data showed that they had a presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia was able to win 70 percent of the votes against Maduro’s 30 percent.
“We did it, and everybody knows that,” Machado said, noting that the opposition will “defend against the facts.”
“The global community is aware of the events in Venezuela and how the people have voted to bring change,” she said.
Gonzalez who was also present in the news conference said that rules had been breached during the elections.
If Maduro becomes president the next term, it will be another six-year run which is a sign of the continuation of “Chavismo” as president which began in 1999 under the leadership of the previous the president Hugo Chavez. Maduro is in office since the death of Chavez in 2013.
The election comes at an important time for Venezuela as a nation that is oil-rich which suffered the biggest economic downturn of a peacetime nation in recent times. Maduro has blamed international sanctions against his regime, declaring that Venezuela is a victim of an “economic conflict.”
However, the oppositionthat has gained momentum in this election and poses the biggest threat to Maduro’s hold on the presidency in recent years had pledged to restore democracy in Venezuela and bring back the economy if they were elected.
Through the entire election process there has been growing worries that the opposition might not have a fair vote since Maduro’s administration controls every public institution in Venezuela as well as the Supreme Court – which could be the ultimate arbiter in any allegations of fraud in the electoral process. The government is also accused of rigging elections before, a claim it has denied.
Celebrations and tears
The voters come out in droves with many stating they would be leaving the country should Maduro was elected — warning of violent suppression and economic decline under his regime.
Following the announcement of the results, Maduro described it as an “triumph of stability, peace as well as republican ideals and the notion that equality is the goal.”
“They couldn’t over come the sanctions, they were unable to overcome the violence and threats, they are not ever be able to defeat their dignity as citizens from Venezuela,” he said during his public address by referring to his political adversaries.
Results announced by elections authorities were met with mixed feelings in the capital city of Caracas and Caracas, and Maduro fans cheering on and jubilating in front of the presidential residence. In contrast, supporters of the opposition could be seen wailing and embracing in the streets.
On Sunday night opposition leaders claimed that there were irregularities in the election -witnessing opposition being denied access to CNE headquarters while the CNE had to count votes, and the CNE is allegedly stopping data from being delivered from local polling locations in order to stop additional voting from being processed.
The lead-up to the vote was beset by accusations of unjustified game.
The campaign to win the election was characterized by at least 71 people arbitrarily detained, the majority of them providing some form of support to the opposition several media websites were shut down in the country, as per the human rights group Laboratorio de Paz.
The government also imposed major obstacles to allow Venezuelans who are abroad to vote, which include a wide impossible passports and residency requirements.
CNN has approached the CNE but the CNE has not been able to respond to the allegations made by the opposition.
‘Serious concerns’
Following the CNE announced the victory of Maduro, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed “serious concerns that the results announced do not reflect the intentions or the vote that are the votes of Venezuelan population.”
He said the need was “critical” that votes be counted in a fair and transparent manner and demanded the CNE to release its voting results.
The allegations of the opposition could be a hindrance to Venezuela being able to return on the world scene following Maduro made a promise in the last year to organize fair and free elections during US-brokered talks in exchange for relief from sanctions.
The results also prompted mixed reactions throughout the region. There were presidents in Peru, Chile, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Argentina and Uruguay each one of them either denied or questioned the results, with some declaring that they will not accept Maduro’s victory. Before the elections there were a lot of Latin American leaders had urged Maduro to pledge to step off if he was defeated.
However, some of Venezuela’s allies felicitated Maduro for his victory including presidents of Honduran, Bolivian and Cuban. Bolivian, Honduran and Cuban presidents.
In the evening of Sunday an official statement made on the internet from the Venezuelan foreign minister slammed the as foreign “intervention” in the elections in a veiled reference to some of the countries who had criticised the outcome – which included Argentina, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Peru and more.
CNN’s Flora Charner and Ed Szekeres contributed to this report.