Two candidates claim win in Venezuelan presidential election

The National Electoral Council on Sunday said that President Nicolás Maduro won reelection with 51 percent of the vote and 80 percent of the votes counted. The opposition group Democratic Unitary Platform also claimed victory and said its candidate, Edmundo González, was the rightful president. An additional six-year term would be Maduro’s third as president.

Have there been any claims of election interference? A group of nongovernmental organizations earlier this month claimed that Maduro’s government attempted to quash opposition groups by arresting dozens of campaign workers. Human Rights Watch last summer warned that elections in Venezuela would likely be unfair after the National Assembly appointed new members to the National Electoral Council. In 2023, only 26 percent of Venezuelans said they were confident in the honesty of elections, according to a Gallup poll.

How have international leaders responded? World leaders on Monday morning hesitated to recognize Maduro as the winner, with many calling on the country to verify the results. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States has serious concerns that the results do not reflect the will or votes of the people. The Carter Center asked for a detailed, localized breakdown of the votes. European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell Fontelles called for transparency in the electoral process and detailed vote counting. Meanwhile, President of Cuba Miguel Diaz-Canel and Russian leader Vladimir Putin congratulated Maduro on the victory.

Dig deeper: Read Carlos Paez’s report in World Tour about Gonzalez’s attempt to oust dictator Maduro.