By Stefan J. Bos and Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondents
CARACAS (Worthy News) – Tensions rose Monday after Venezuela’s incumbent President Nicolas Maduro, 61, was declared the winner with just over half of the overall vote against Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was banned from running for office, said opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez won 70 percent of the vote.
She urged the military to “respect the will of the people,” but it was unclear whether the army would intervene.
Venezuelans headed to the polls on Sunday to vote in a presidential election that could determine whether the economically troubled South American nation moves away from one-party rule. Some 21 million Venezuelans were registered to vote.
Tens of thousands of security forces were deployed, with border control ramped up and public gatherings and protests banned.
Ahead of the vote, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington would not prejudge the results.
However, he called on parties to “respect“ the democratic process, which would be closely watched during significant challenges for the Latin American nation.
The UK expressed concern over allegations of irregularities in the Venezuelan election, urging a quick and transparent publication of the results to accurately reflect the Venezuelan people’s choice.
Similarly, Chile’s President Gabriel Boric voiced skepticism about the credibility of the election results under Maduro’s regime, emphasizing the need for verifiable transparency and stating Chile’s refusal to recognize unverifiable results.
Argentinian President Javier Milei declared, “Venezuelans chose to end the communist dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro. The data announce a crushing victory for the opposition and the world is waiting for it to recognize defeat after years of socialism, misery, decadence, and death.” In a resolute message on social media, Milei further emphasized, “DICTATOR MADURO, OUT!!!” He reinforced Argentina’s refusal to acknowledge any potential electoral fraud, underscoring the critical role of the armed forces in upholding democracy and the popular will.
Additionally, the Peruvian government responded by recalling its ambassador from Caracas for consultations, indicating significant unease over the election outcomes.
The Spanish government, represented by diplomat José Manuel Albares, also called for complete transparency in the electoral process, requesting the release of detailed and verifiable data.
Echoing this sentiment, Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani expressed perplexity at Maduro’s claimed victory, doubting it reflected the true will of the Venezuelan people. These international reactions highlight a widespread demand for credibility and transparency in Venezuela’s electoral process.
Videos that emerged on social media, as seen by Worthy News, depict alleged disruptions in the vote counting process attributed to the Maduro government. The footage also shows armed groups, known as “Colectivos,” who are supporters of Maduro’s regime, storming polling stations around Venezuela. These groups reportedly aimed to seize ballot boxes, with these incidents occurring before Maduro was declared the winner.
UPHILL BATTLE
With elections over, any president will face pressure to tackle struggles with rampant inflation, goods shortages, unemployment, and crime.
Seven million Venezuelans have fled abroad to neighboring states, according to official
estimates.
The country is also involved in a long-running border dispute with neighboring Guyana over Essequibo, a disputed oil-rich territory that Guyana and British Guiana before it has administered since 1899.
Late president Hugo Chavez, who died in 2013, portrayed himself as a champion of the poor during his 14 years in office, pouring billions of dollars of Venezuela’s oil wealth into social programs.
Yet his successor, Maduro, struggled with plummeting oil prices and an economic and political crisis that left Venezuela in a state of near collapse.
It has been one of the world’s leading oil exporters, but the country experienced poor economic management in the early decades of the 21st Century.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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