- Venezuela's opposition claims victory in all states
Venezuela's Opposition claims victory for its candidate Edmundo González Urrutia after the presidential election marred by fraud allegations. Opposition leader María Corina Machado told reporters they had access to 73% of the results, showing an insurmountable lead for the challenger over incumbent Nicolás Maduro. González won in all states and received over 6.2 million votes, while Maduro got only 2.7 million.
"This is a historic triumph," said González. Authorities must respect the people's will expressed at the ballot boxes.
The National Electoral Council officially declared Maduro the winner. The leftist president would begin his third six-year term in January 2025. According to official figures, Maduro received 51.2% of the votes, with González getting 44.2%.
The opposition did not recognize the official results and accused the government of election fraud. The U.S. government and several Latin American countries also expressed doubts about Maduro's alleged victory, who rules the country with authoritarian methods. Venezuela then announced it would recall all its diplomatic staff from several Latin American countries.
Before the Sunday election, several polls predicted an opposition victory. However, independent experts already anticipated that the election would not be free or fair.
The opposition's victory celebration was planned for the following Monday, following the controversial Sunday election. Despite the election fraud allegations, many Venezuelan supporters of González had hoped for a fairer outcome on Sunday.
