Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has won a third term, the country’s electoral authority has said – despite several exit polls which had pointed to a decisive opposition win.
The head of the National Electoral Council, Elvis Amoroso, said Mr Maduro had secured 51% of the vote, beating his opponent Edmundo Gonzalez, who won 44%.
He said around 80% of ballot boxes have been counted, adding that results had been delayed because of “aggression” against the electoral data transmission system.
Mr Maduro said his re-election was a triumph of peace and stability, and reiterated his campaign assertion that Venezuela’s electoral system is transparent.
However, the electoral authority, which is controlled by those loyal to Mr Maduro, did not immediately release the official tallies from each of the 30,000 polling stations nationwide, limiting the opposition’s ability to challenge the results.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken called on Venezuela’s electoral authorities to publish a detailed tabulation of the votes to ensure transparency and accountability.
“The United States applauds the Venezuelan people for their participation in the July 28 presidential election despite significant challenges and deep concerns about the process,” Mr Blinken said in a statement.
“Now that the voting has concluded, it is vitally important that every vote is counted fairly and transparently.”
Earlier, the opposition had said it had “reasons to celebrate” and asked supporters to continue monitoring vote counts.
“The results cannot be hidden. The country has peacefully chosen a change,” Mr Gonzalez tweeted before the results were announced.
The opposition had remained hopeful while votes were being counted after several purported exit polls – which are not allowed under Venezuelan law – showed a promising margin of victory for Mr Gonzalez.
Mr Gonzalez, a retired diplomat, was relatively unknown to voters before April, when he became a last-minute stand-in for opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, after she was blocked from standing by the Maduro-controlled Supreme Tribunal of Justice.
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