Nicolas Maduro wins presidential elections in Venezuela

The National Electoral Council of Venezuela (CNE) announced the first results, giving Victory for Nicolás Maduro with 51% of the votes, while the opposition candidate Edmundo González obtained 44.2% of the vote, which marks an irreversible trend.

In this way, Maduro is re-elected for the second time and will begin a third term at the head of the Executive, which will run until January 2031.

Nominated by the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), Maduro beat the main opposition candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, of the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD).

Nicolás Maduro, executive vice president under Hugo Chávez in October 2012, assumed the leadership of the country after his death in 2013, being appointed interim president of the Bolivarian Republic in March of that year, and elected constitutional leader in April, without leaving power since then.

Although the polling stations closed at 6:00 p.m. in Venezuela, The National Electoral Council took another six hours to announce the resultsovershadowing Maduro’s opponents, who had taken to the streets declaring victory.

Opposition leaders were already celebrating, online and outside some polling stations, what they said was a landslide victory for Gonzalez.

According to analysts, this election will have a domino effect throughout the Americas, with opponents and supporters of the government signaling their interest in joining the exodus of 7.7 million Venezuelans who have already left their homes in search of opportunities abroad if Maduro wins another six-year term.

Blinken asks Venezuela to publish the vote count

US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken on Monday called on Venezuelan electoral authorities to publish detailed tabulations of votes in the presidential election. on Sunday to ensure transparency and accountability.

“The United States applauds the Venezuelan people for their participation in the July 28 presidential election despite significant challenges and deep concerns about the process,” Blinken said in a statement.

“Now that voting has concluded, it is vitally important that every vote is counted fairly and transparently,” he said.

Keep reading:

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• 4 profound changes in Venezuela since Nicolás Maduro took power 11 years ago