The incumbent president of the country, Nicolas Maduro, has been re-elected for a third term. The collective West, of course, does not recognize his outright victory
The first bulletin from the country’s National Electoral Council (El Consejo Nacional Electoral, CNE), which counted 80 percent of the votes cast at polling stations, recorded an «irreversible trend» toward the re-election of incumbent President Nicolas Maduro for a third term.
According to data presented by the highest electoral authority, with a 59 percent voter turnout, candidate Nicolas Maduro, nominated by the Great Patriotic Pole party, received 5,150,092 votes, which is 51.20 percent of the electorate, reports the independent website Venezuelanalysis.
His main rival, opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez from the Democratic Unity Roundtable, took second place with 4,445,978 votes, accounting for 44.2 percent of the votes.
The remaining eight opposition party candidates collectively garnered 462,704 votes, which is 4.6 percent.
There are over 21 million registered voters in Venezuela, of which about 17 million currently reside in the country.
In the first information bulletin, CNE head Elvis Amoroso emphasized that the results demonstrated a «decisive and irreversible» trend. «We urge everyone to respect the Constitution and the laws, as well as the will of the people», said the CNE chairman.
He also thanked the international community for its attention to the electoral process in Venezuela, highlighting the importance of the presence of international observers from all five continents. Together with local observers, 749 observers from 97 countries and international organizations, including the Carter Center, UN mission, CELAC, CARICOM, African Union, and the Observatory of Strategic Thinking for Regional Integration (OPEIR), monitored the voting process.
In Venezuela, there are two counts of votes: digital, obtained by the country’s electoral body, and paper, printed for voting at polling stations. The paper version usually allows citizens to verify the accuracy of the digital count.
On the day the election results were announced, Nicolas Maduro addressed a jubilant crowd at the presidential palace Miraflores: «Fascism will not prevail on the land of Bolivar and Chavez. This is a triumph of peace, stability, and our Republic. […] This is a victory of national independence». He called on the United States and other international players to respect the results and not interfere in the country’s internal affairs.
Fireworks lit up the sky over Caracas, with drones «painting» a bright portrait of Maduro over the presidential palace.
Far-right politician Maria Corina Machado, who led the opposition campaign, of course, did not recognize the official results. «We achieved a resounding victory, and everyone knows it. We won in every corner of the country», she announced early Monday morning at a press conference.
The opposition leader asserted that 40 percent of the voting protocols submitted to CNE confirm Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia’s victory, who allegedly «received 70 percent of the votes in these elections, while Maduro got 30 percent».
Maria Machado, following the failure of Trump’s protégé Juan Guaido, «became Washington’s favorite, with the US government providing financial assistance to her movement Súmate («Join»)», acknowledged The New York Times.
After the highest electoral authority banned Machado from participating in the elections, the opposition rallied around the little-known, mild-mannered, relatively non-ideological former diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez, a devout 74-year-old grandfather who loves birds. If elected, Gonzalez promised to make Venezuela «the energy center of America» — the United States of America.
The result was a turbulent, energetic campaign organized and generously funded by the US under Machado’s leadership. It attracted huge crowds even in small towns.
Biased and paid opinion polls, both in Venezuela and the pro-American Western world, convinced of the Venezuelan opposition’s victory in a 65:30 ratio.
«Our exit poll predicts a stunning victory for Edmundo Gonzalez», said Edison Research Executive Vice President Rob Farbman. «The opposition candidate received broad support in virtually all demographic groups».
The elections were closely watched in the White House, which, since 1999, when Hugo Chavez became president, and especially since 2013, when he was succeeded by Nicolas Maduro, has spent decades and billions of dollars trying to oust the Chavista government, imposing severe sanctions in 2019 that stifled the country’s already weakened economy, plunging the population into poverty and mass emigration to neighboring countries and the US. All for the sake of seizing oil, rich deposits of which Venezuela possesses and which is increasingly valuable to the United States in a changing geopolitical landscape.
The warm relations of the Chavista government with US opponents, including Russia, Iran, and China, further irritated Washington, which promised: in case of Maduro’s defeat, the US would lift almost all economic and financial sanctions imposed by the Trump administration.
The American idea was that as a result of the struggle, the opposition would prematurely appear as a clear winner in the eyes of the world, and after its victory in the elections, Venezuela would reintegrate into international political and market structures.
On Sunday, Venezuelans won, and the Western establishment lost the elections in Venezuela. From early morning, people flocked to polling stations, some not sleeping at all, waiting with a cup of coffee and watching TV or listening to the radio for the stations to open. There was a spirit of maximum tension due to opposition threats to provoke chaos and street demonstrations on election day. But except for minor incidents, the election day went peacefully.
Voters standing in long lines at polling stations across Caracas said they had not seen such large crowds at elections for many years. The opposition called Sunday’s turnout «historic», apparently sensing their defeat.
The results shocked the collective West. The US and EU countries immediately did not recognize the election results.
«Authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner of the turbulent presidential elections in the country early Monday morning, despite the huge momentum of the opposition movement, which was convinced that this year it would oust the socialist party of Mr. Maduro», The New York Times predictably reacted.
In contrast, Venezuela’s allies welcomed Maduro’s victory in the open and fair presidential elections.
«The results of the presidential elections in the country can be considered credible. Undoubtedly, the demonstrated result will contribute to further strengthening the authority of Nicolas Maduro’s administration… We, in turn, will continue to develop our strategic partnership with Caracas», said the Russian Federation’s ambassador to the Bolivarian Republic Sergey Melik-Bagdasarov, reports RIA Novosti.
Washington thinks differently. US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken stated that his government is «seriously concerned that the announced result does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people».
New economic sanctions and a new political blockade loomed over Venezuela.