Maduro declared victorious in disputed elections in Venezuela

Nicolás Maduro has won the controversial presidential election in Venezuela. The country's National Electoral Council (CNE) announced this information based on partial vote results.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is celebrating after announcing his victory in the election. Caracas, Venezuela, July 29 Photo: AFP

Elvis Amoroso, head of the CNE and known to be close to Maduro, said 80% of the votes have been counted. Among them, Maduro received 51.20% of the votes, while his opponent, Edmundo González Urrutia from the opposition coalition, received 44.02% of the votes.

The coalition of Venezuela's opposition parties has raised widespread allegations of vote manipulation. They have said that the election results will be challenged.

The presidential election took place yesterday, Sunday, in the Latin American country. Maduro has been in power for 11 years. With his victory in this election, he is set to become president for a third term.

Prior to the vote, various polls had indicated that Maduro was trailing far behind González. However, the results published by the National Electoral Council now state that Maduro has won the election.

In response to the vote counting, the opposition coalition appointed thousands of observers at the centers. A spokesperson for the coalition alleged that their observers were expelled from many polling stations.

Fearing that the Maduro government might rig the votes, the opposition coalition had previously called for strict monitoring by observers at the centers.

The oculist PSUV party has been in power in Venezuela for 25 years. The party first came to power under the leadership of Hugo Chávez. After Chávez's death in 2013, Maduro took over the presidency.

Many voters in the country are frustrated and angry with Venezuela's current economic crisis and political repression. Therefore, many voters were hoping for a change in this election.

The opposition had rejected the 2018 election, alleging it was neither fair nor impartial. They had also anticipated widespread fraud in this election.

President Maduro had previously said that he would win this election at any cost. His comments had further increased concerns about the fairness of the election.