Venezuela elections, Maduro wins with 51.2% and is set to rule until 2030
Opponent Edmundo Gonzalez denounces irregularities and fraud.
2' min read
Key points
- The Election Committee announced the results
- The danger of a harsh season of conflict
- The role of China, Russia and Iran in economic recovery
2' min read
The last wall of the Revolution. President Nicolas Maduro won the presidential elections with 51.2% of the vote, against 44.2% for his opponent Edmundo Gonzalez. The electoral committee, chaired by Elvis Amoroso, sanctioned Maduro's triumph, whichthe opposition strongly rejected.
Maduro got 5.15 million votes, ahead of Gonzalez, with just under 4.5 million. The result is 'irreversible', said the president, who was greeted with a small fireworks display. Maduro, who could now rule until 2030, took to the stage of the presidential palace in Caracas to celebrate his victory with his supporters by singing 'Vamos Nico'.
The opposition, very active on social media, rejects the result and accuses the establishment of fraud. A season of conflict now opens.
The declarations
Maduro's first statement as he prepares to govern for a third term was this: 'We will not let anyone tarnish the beauty of this day. The Constitution must be respected. I am a man of peace and dialogue. I will use all my energy to govern with an eye to the country's prosperity, growth and social happiness. The goal is to redeem the rights violated by economic warfare, by imperialist missiles'.Edmundo Gonzalez, according to some polls, was sailing with a 20/30 point lead. Other demoscopic institutes predicted a Maduro victory. Maria Corina Machado, the opposition leader who had won the primaries with 92% but was then excluded from the government, said that the biggest wave of migration ever could now be underway. In the last few hours there has been media coverage of a meeting between Brazilian President Lula da Silva and Colombian President Gustavo Petro (both left-wing leaders), who are expected to hold talks with Maduro.
The opposition does not agree
The opposition in Venezuela claimed electoral success with 70 per cent of the vote. González, in his first speech, declared: 'Venezuelans and the whole world know what has happened'', Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said the margin of González's victory was 'overwhelming' based on the vote counts received by campaign representatives from around 40% of the ballot boxes across the country. China, Russia and Iran, according to most Venezuelan analysts, helped Maduro in the economic recovery Venezuela is enjoying. The International Monetary Fund forecasts GDP growth of over 4% in 2024, the highest in Latin America.
