Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has secured a third term in office after winning the presidential election with 51.2% of the vote.
According to official results, Nicolas Maduro has won Venezuela’s presidential election. Leaders from Russia and China have congratulated the head of state on his victory.
Elvis Amoroso, head of the National Electoral Council (CNE), announced shortly after midnight on Sunday that Maduro had secured over 51% of the vote, compared to 44% for his main rival, Edmundo Gonzales, based on 80% of the ballots counted.
Addressing supporters in Caracas, Maduro described his victory as “a triumph of peace and stability.” However, the Venezuelan opposition has vehemently disputed the results, alleging election rule violations, with Gonzales also claiming victory.
Opposition leader Marina Corina Machado, who was barred from running by a court due to corruption-related charges, has rejected Maduro’s victory, stating: “We won and the whole world knows it.”
Following the vote, Venezuela’s electoral authority, viewed by the opposition as favoring the ruling party, did not immediately release the tallies from each of the 30,000 polling stations nationwide, according to media reports.
Maduro, 61, expressed gratitude to his supporters and mocked the opposition, claiming they “cry fraud” at every election.
International leaders have responded to the results with mixed reactions.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated his Venezuelan counterpart, highlighting the strategic importance of the Moscow-Caracas partnership. He expressed confidence in Maduro’s continued pursuit of the “progressive development” of bilateral relations “in all areas” and welcomed Maduro to Russia.
China has also extended its congratulations to Maduro, praising Venezuela for “smoothly holding its presidential election,” according to a statement by China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lin Jian on Monday.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed skepticism, raising “serious concerns” that the result “does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people.” Chilean President Gabriel Boric described the result as “hard to believe” and demanded “total transparency.”
Maduro has received congratulations from regional allies, including the leaders of Cuba, Honduras and Bolivia.
“Nicolas Maduro, my brother, your victory, which is that of the Bolivarian and Chavista people, has cleanly and unequivocally defeated the pro-imperialist opposition,” stated Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel.
“The dignity and bravery of the Venezuelan people had triumphed over pressure and manipulation,” he added.
Maduro will now serve a third consecutive six-year term, having first assumed office in 2013 following the death of President Hugo Chavez.