Joining The US, Spain Asks Venezuela To Open Voting Data That Wins Maduro In The Presidential Election

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares/PHOTO via Instagram @jmalbares

JAKARTA - Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares asked Venezuela to release detailed and verifiable voting data after the national election board announced President Nicolas Maduro won a third term, which contradicts several poll results.

As reported by Reuters on Monday, July 29, Albares followed in the footsteps of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Chilean President Gabriel Boric, and other Latin American leaders in demanding transparency from Venezuelan authorities.

Blinken previously urged Venezuelan election authorities to publicize vote tabulations on Sunday, July 28, to ensure transparency and accountability.

The United States praised the Venezuelan people for their participation in the presidential election on July 28 despite major challenges and deep concerns about the process, Blinken said in a statement reported by Reuters, Monday, July 29.

"Now that the vote is over, it is very important that each vote is fair and transparent," he said.

Nicolwas Maduro, Venezuelan authoritarian leader, was re-elected as president. Opposition mentions there was fraud in the presidential election.

Maduro's victory was announced by the country's election authority amid allegations of election irregularities submitted by the opposition.

With 80 percent of the votes calculated, Maduro, who has been in power for a long time, won more than 51 percent of the vote.

He outperformed candidate from the Democratic Unity Platform (PUD)vocado Gonzrtez Urrutia, who received more than 44 percent of the vote, according to a statement from the National Election Council (CNE).

Reported byCNN, Monday, July 29, Maduro will serve for a third consecutive six-year term representing the continuity of the 'Chavismo' power, which began in 1999 at the hands of former president Hugo Chavez.

Maduro has been in power since Chavez's 2013 death.