Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro won a third term with 51% of the vote, while opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez received 44%, according to the country’s electoral authority, despite exit polls predicting an opposition victory, Reuters reports.
Maduro celebrated his reelection as a triumph for peace and stability and announced plans for a “great national dialogue.” However, exit polls from Edison Research and Meganalisis reported vastly different figures from the official results, forecasting that Gonzalez would win 65% of the vote.
The National Electoral Council (CNE) president, Elvis Amoroso, mentioned that 80% of ballots were counted and results were delayed due to an attack on the electoral data system, with voter participation at 59%. The opposition criticized the CNE for bias and reported instances where their observers were barred from polling stations. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed concerns about the election’s validity, calling for a detailed vote count.
Gonzalez and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado emphasized that the results indicated a desire for change and urged the military to support the true outcome. However, the military, which has historically backed Maduro, showed no signs of dissent.