Venezuela declares Maduro winner of election, but US and others question the result

There was immediate international reaction to the announcement by the government-controlled electoral power in Venezuela that President Nicolás Maduro has won re-election with 51.2% of the votes, compared with 44.2% for the main opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia. The Venezuelan Electoral Commission (CNE) announced the results of the Sunday vote just past midnight.

The United States, Chile and Spain are among the countries that have questioned the electoral results. “We have serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people,” said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking from Tokyo. “The international community is watching this very closely and will respond accordingly.”

“It’s critical that every vote be counted fairly and transparently that the electoral authorities immediately share information with the opposition and independent observers without delay and that the electoral authorities publish the tabulation of votes,” he added.

The first foreign dignitary to question the results was the president of Chile, the leftist Gabriel Boric, who said he did not believe the results released by the CNE. “The Maduro regime must understand that the results it has released are difficult to believe.” He said that the international community and the Venezuelan people, including the millions of Venezuelans in exile, demand total transparency regarding the process, and that international observers should ratify the result of the vote. “Chile we will not recognize any result that is not verifiable,” he wrote on his social media accounts.

There was a swift and scathing reply from Venezuela’s foreign minister, Yvan Gil. “Perhaps your incompetence is the reason why you don’t know that the children of Bolívar and Chávez do not need your devalued recognition; here we defeated fascism with votes and popular support, and we are also free of tutelage, something that unfortunately your government cannot say. Concentrate on your own problems!” wrote the minister in his social accounts.

The government Peru also warned that it will not recognize Maduro’s victory. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Javier González-Olaechea, condemned “the sum of irregularities with the intention of fraud on the part of the Venezuelan government.” Uruguay and Costa Rica also spoke openly about “fraudulent results.”

Spain’s foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, struck a more cautious note even as he asked for “total transparency” and requested that “the records of the polling stations be made public one by one so that the results can be verified.” The head of Spanish diplomacy noted that only “raw data” is available for now and that not all the votes have been counted yet.

The European Union’s diplomatic chief, Josep Borrell, posted a message on X on Monday saying that “The people of Venezuela voted on the future of their country peacefully and in large numbers. Their will must be respected. Ensuring full transparency in the electoral process, including detailed counting of votes and access to voting records at polling stations, is vital.” There were no EU observers present at the election on Sunday after Venezuelan authorities revoked the invitation.

But there were also congratulatory messages from the countries that form part of the so-called Bolivarian axis. The presidents of Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia and Honduras, all ideologically aligned with Chavismo, congratulated Nicolás Maduro in the early hours of Monday morning. “I spoke with brother Nicolás Maduro to convey to him warm congratulations on behalf of the Cuban Party, government and people for the historic electoral victory he has achieved, after an impressive demonstration by the Venezuelan people. I reaffirm Cuba’s solidarity,” posted Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel on X. “Today the dignity and courage of the Venezuelan people triumphed over pressures and manipulations.”

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