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Venezuela Opposition Challenges Election Results, Proclaims Victory Over Maduro

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Pooja Chauhan
Pooja Chauhan
Pooja Chauhan: Your Source for Entertainment and Box Office News Pooja Chauhan is a passionate writer and dedicated journalist specializing in delivering the latest updates and insights from the world of entertainment and box office. With a keen eye for detail and a deep love for cinema, Pooja brings her readers accurate and engaging coverage of all things related to movies, celebrities, and the dynamic world of showbiz. Her commitment to keeping her audience well-informed and entertained makes her a valuable voice in the realm of entertainment journalism. When she's not busy uncovering the latest scoops, Pooja enjoys exploring classic films and indulging in creative writing." Contact us: admin@bollywoodfever.co.in

Venezuela’s opposition claims a victory in Sunday’s election, disputing official results that declared incumbent President Nicolas Maduro the winner. Protests erupt as international scrutiny intensifies.

Venezuela, Bollywood Fever: Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado announced on Monday that the country’s opposition has 73.2% of the voting tallies from Sunday’s election, allowing it to assert victory over incumbent President Nicolas Maduro. The national electoral authority, however, proclaimed Maduro the winner, granting him a third term in office and extending 25 years of socialist party rule.

Independent pollsters and opposition leaders have called the official results implausible and urged the electoral authority to release all vote tallies. According to Machado, the opposition’s tallies show Maduro received 2.75 million votes, while his rival, former diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez, garnered 6.27 million votes. This sharply contrasts with the electoral authority’s figures, which reported 5.15 million votes for Maduro and 4.45 million for Gonzalez.

Venezuela Opposition Challenges Election Results, Proclaims Victory Over Maduro

Witnesses assigned to observe vote counts have a right to copies of each voting machine’s tally. However, the opposition claimed that some witnesses were blocked from following counts, and at other sites, the tallies were not printed.

The opposition has long warned about potential unfairness in the voting process, citing decisions by officials and the arrests of opposition staff as deliberate obstacles. The electoral authority declared just after midnight that Maduro had won 51% of the vote and later proclaimed him president for 2025 to 2031, stating he had won “the majority of valid votes.”

Governments in Washington and elsewhere have cast doubt on the results and called for a full tabulation of votes. Independent exit polls indicated 65% support for Gonzalez and between 14% and 31% backing for Maduro.

At least two people were killed in connection with the vote count or protests, one overnight in the border state of Tachira and another in Maracay on Monday. Protests erupted in towns and cities across Venezuela, including near the presidential palace in Caracas.

Gonzalez has repeatedly warned against bloodshed. In contrast, Maduro, whose 2018 re-election is considered fraudulent by the United States and others, stated on state television that paid agitators had assaulted electoral agency offices. “We know how to confront this situation and how to defeat those who are violent,” Maduro said.

Jorge Rodriguez, a ruling party lawmaker and Maduro’s campaign manager, called for supporters to march in support of the government on Tuesday. Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino warned against allowing a repeat of the “terrible situations of 2014, 2017, and 2019,” referring to years when anti-government protests led to hundreds of deaths.

Machado urged the country’s military to uphold the true results of the vote. However, the armed forces, long supporters of Maduro, have shown no public signs of breaking from the government.

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Protests Turn Violent

Protesters gathered in towns and cities across Venezuela, with the Venezuelan Conflict Observatory registering 187 protests in 20 states. “We’re fed up with this; we want freedom,” said Fernando Mejia, a motorcycle taxi driver, as he marched in Maracay.

Protests included “cacerolazo” demonstrations—where people bang pots and pans—throughout the country. In the Caracas neighborhood of El Valle and the city of Maracay, police fired tear gas while protesters blocked parts of a major road in Barquisimeto. In Coro, the capital of Falcon state, protesters tore down a statue of late president Hugo Chavez, Maduro’s mentor.

An opposition adviser reported that security forces had made two failed attempts to enter the Argentine embassy in Caracas, where he and five others have been living since March after warrants were issued for their arrests.

Many Venezuelan voters expressed despair at the news of another six-year term for Maduro, who has presided over an economic collapse, mass migration, and sanctions that have crippled the struggling oil industry.

“Maduro yesterday shattered my greatest dream, to see my only daughter again, who went to Argentina three years ago,” said retiree Dalia Romero, 59, in Maracaibo. “I stayed here alone with breast cancer so that she could work there and send me money for treatment. Now I know that I’m going to die alone without seeing her again,” she said through tears.

All You Want to know about Venezuelan Election

International Reaction

The U.S. nonprofit the Carter Center, which sent observers for the vote, called on the electoral authority to immediately publish results by polling station. A source said further information from the group would not be released until its final report.

Biden administration officials accused the government of “electoral manipulation.” While they did not announce new punitive measures, they left open the possibility of additional sanctions. Brazil and the European Union called for transparency over polling data.

Venezuela’s bonds and those of state oil firm PDVSA fell deeper into distressed territory on Monday. Venezuela’s attorney general Tarek Saab claimed the results had been delayed by an attack on the electoral system from North Macedonia, though he did not offer any evidence.

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