Venezuela’s presidential election has resulted in a high-stakes standoff as both President Nicolas Maduro and opposition candidate Edmundo González claim victory. The election, seen by many as a chance to end 25 years of single-party rule, has left the nation in a state of uncertainty.
Election officials have delayed releasing detailed vote tallies, proclaiming Maduro the winner with 51% of the vote to González’s 44%. Several foreign governments, including the United States, have held off recognizing the results amid concerns over the election’s legitimacy.
Venezuelans and the entire world know what happened,” González stated.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed “serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people.” Gabriel Boric, the leftist leader of Chile, echoed these sentiments, stating, “The Maduro regime should understand that the results it published are difficult to believe.
In Caracas, the announcement of results by the Maduro-controlled National Electoral Council was met with a mix of anger, tears, and loud pot banging. “This isn’t possible,” said Ayari Padrón, wiping away tears. “This is a humiliation.”
Voters lined up before dawn to cast their ballots on Sunday, raising the opposition’s hopes of breaking Maduro’s grip on power. The official results came as a shock to opposition members who had celebrated what they believed was a landslide victory for González.
“I’m so happy,” said Merling Fernández, a 31-year-old bank employee, as a representative for the opposition campaign announced results showing González more than doubling Maduro’s vote count. Dozens standing nearby erupted in an impromptu rendition of the national anthem.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado described the margin of González’s victory as “overwhelming,” based on voting tallies the campaign received from representatives stationed at about 40% of ballot boxes.
Authorities delayed releasing the results from each of the 30,000 polling booths nationwide, promising to do so in the “coming hours,” hampering attempts to verify the results.
González, a retired diplomat and political newcomer, was tapped in April as a last-minute stand-in for Machado, who was blocked by the Maduro-controlled supreme court from running for any office for 15 years.
The delay in announcing a winner indicated a deep debate inside the government about how to proceed after Maduro’s opponents claimed victory early in the evening. After finally claiming to have won, Maduro accused unidentified foreign enemies of trying to hack the voting system, providing no evidence but promising “justice” for those who try to stir violence in Venezuela.
The election will have ripple effects throughout the Americas, with both government opponents and supporters signaling their interest in joining the exodus of 7.7 million Venezuelans who have already left their homes for opportunities abroad should Maduro win another six-year term.
Venezuela, which sits atop the world’s largest proven oil reserves, once boasted Latin America’s most advanced economy. However, it entered into a free fall after Maduro took the helm, with plummeting oil prices, widespread shortages, and hyperinflation leading to social unrest and mass emigration.
Maduro’s pitch to voters this election was one of economic security, which he tried to sell with stories of entrepreneurship and references to a stable currency exchange and lower inflation rates. However, most Venezuelans have not seen any improvement in their quality of life, with many earning under $200 a month and struggling to afford essential items.
The opposition has tried to seize on the huge inequalities arising from the crisis, promising a government that would create sufficient jobs to attract Venezuelans living abroad to return home and reunite with their families.
