After a long day marked by tension, violence, and uncertainty, the National Electoral Council announced just past midnight the first bulletin of the Venezuelan presidential elections, which showed 51.2% for Nicolás Maduro and 44.2% for opposition candidate Edmundo González with 80% of the votes counted.
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The results from the CNE (Consejo Nacional Electoral in spanish), which is controlled by the Chavismo through the National Assembly, were delivered by its president Elvis Amoroso, so Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, will extend his regime with a third term until 2031.
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The Chavista Constitution establishes indefinite reelection, so Maduro could run for a fourth term.
Those results are highly questioned by the opposition. The former president of Mexico, Vicente Fox, who as an international observer was prevented from entering Venezuela, said on X after 11 pm this Sunday that based on 7737 records they managed to obtain, representing 25.77% of the total, “the trend shows Edmundo González with 70.39% and Nicolas Maduro with 27.22%”.
At the same time, late at night, Omar Barboza, the executive secretary of the Democratic Unity Platform, the opposition political alliance, asked the government not to release results "until all votes are counted," in another show of questioning the transparency of the Venezuelan electoral process.
Even though the results were announced with 80% of the votes counted, Amoroso declared Maduro as "president of Venezuela."
Different authorities from America also called for transparency in the elections and respect for the will of the Venezuelan people, including Kamala Harris, the Vice President of the United States and the virtual presidential candidate of the Democratic Party, as well as Gabriel Boric, the President of Chile.
The third electoral victory for Nicolás Maduro
These were the most difficult elections for Maduro, a 61-year-old former union leader. In 2013, he was propelled by the image of the recently deceased Hugo Chávez, and in 2018 he ran practically unopposed, after the opposition coalition refused to participate citing a lack of guarantees.
President Maduro faced his most difficult challenge so far from the most unlikely of opponents: Edmundo González. The retired diplomat was a newcomer to the political world until recently and was chosen to replace opposition leader María Corina Machado at the last minute, who was disqualified by the Venezuelan government from holding public office for 15 years.
Eight other presidential candidates in Venezuela participated in the contest with minority popular support.
A tense day in Venezuela
There were clashes between government supporters and opposition followers at some polling stations. Also, in various Venezuelan cities, the "Chavista collectives," armed motorcyclists supporting the government, went out to spread terror and had violent confrontations with opposition groups.
In Táchira, a serious injury was reported and international media outlets denounced that a group of motorcyclists entered polling stations armed.
During the afternoon, the opposition's atmosphere was one of great hope, as an exit poll released by Edison Research announced Edmundo González's victory with 65% against Nicolás Maduro's 31%.
That environment was changing as night fell and the opposition candidate was asking through social media “let's stay at the Voting Centers in peace, validating and defending vote by vote...until they deliver the records that will validate the information we have”.
The Chavistas went out to celebrate before the results
Before the official data from the CNE was known, Jorge Rodríguez, campaign manager for President Nicolás Maduro and head of the overwhelmingly pro-government National Assembly, appeared at a press conference with a smile stating that "we are respectful of the laws of our country and the Constitution."
Rodríguez's words and gestures only served to increase suspicions about an electoral process that is controlled by Maduro's government.
Shortly after Rodríguez’s words, the Minister of Defense, General-in-Chief Vladimir Padrino López, stated that the high command would meet with Maduro, who summoned them to review “all these aspects of security, peace, coexistence.”