President Maduro And Opposition Both Claims Win, Venezuelan Election Official Results Are Questioned

Venezuelan opposition leader Yogyakarta Gonzalez (the man in the white/left shirt) PHOTO via X @EdmundoGU

JAKARTA - Presiden Nicolas Maduro dan persaingannya dari optivisttamao Gonzalez sama-sama mengklaim kemenangan dalam pemilihan presiden Venezuela ketika Washington dan pemerintah asing lainnya mempercayakan hasil resmi yang membuat incumbena tetap berkuasa.

The national election authority said right after midnight, Monday, July 29, Maduro had won a third term with 51 percent of the vote.

But an independent poll showed a major win for the opposition following enthusiastic support for Gonzalez and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado in his campaign.

Gonzalez won 70 percent, said Machado, who was barred from holding public office in a decision he said was unfair.

Gonzalez told his supporters the regulations had been violated on voting day.

"Our message regarding reconciliation and peace change remains in effect, our struggle continues and we will not stop until the wishes of the Venezuelan people are respected," he said.

It is not yet known exactly what the next opposition move will be. Gonzalez also said he did not call for his supporters to take to the streets or commit any acts of violence.

However, a number of incidents occurred across the country before the election results were announced, including the death of a man in the state of Tachira and a fight at polling stations in Carcas and elsewhere.

Police dispersed protests in Catia, which has traditionally been the fort of a ruling party in West Caracas.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington had serious concerns that the results announced by election authorities did not reflect the true voice of the people.

The authority is intended to be an independent body, but the opposition says the agency acts as an extension of the Maduro government.

Caracas and Washington have had hostile relationships since the populist era of far-right Hugo Chavez. Maduro, a former bus driver and 61-year-old foreign minister, began taking office after Chavez's 2013 death and was re-elected in 2018 deemed a cheat by the United States and others, who called him a dictator.

Maduro has experienced economic collapse, a migration of about a third of the population, and a sharp slump in diplomatic relations, marked by sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union, and other countries that have crippled the slumped oil industry.

Venezuelan bonds and state oil company PDVSA were quoted as down between 1.5 and 5 cents by traders on Monday.

Argentine President Javier Milei said the election's official results were fraudulent, while Costa Rica and Peru rejected it and Chile said they would not accept any results that could not be verified.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said the details of the vote count of all polling stations should be provided to ensure fully verifiable results.

"We ask that calm and politeness on election day be maintained," he said.

Russia, Cuba, Honduras, and Bolivia cheered over Maduro's victory.

"Remember that you are always a guest who is greeted on Russian soil," President Vladimir Putin said while congratulating Maduro.

Maduro reaffirmed its campaign statement that Venezuela's electoral system was transparent.

He will sign a decree on Monday to hold a large national dialogue, he said when he celebrated with his supporters before cutting a birthday cake for his late mentor Chavez, who turned 70 on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Edison Research, which conducts high-level election polls in the United States and other countries, published polls showing Gonzalez, a former 74-year-old diplomat known for his calm stance, winning 65 percent of the vote, while Maduro with 31 percent of the vote.

The official results are ridiculous, Executive Vice President Edison Rob Farbman told Reuters via email.

His party still adheres to the survey results.

Exit Poll Edison was conducted nationally with initial data from 6,846 voters interviewed at 100 polling stations.

Local company Meganalis estimates 65 percent of the vote will support Gonzalez and only under 14 percent for Maduro.

Opposition authorities and election monitors have raised questions ahead of the vote on whether the election will be fair, and said the decisions taken by the election authorities and the arrests of opposition staff were meant to create obstacles.

Machado has asked his country's military to uphold the results of the vote, saying voters have made it clear that they don't want Maduro.

Venezuelan military has long supported Maduro and there is no public sign yet that armed forces leaders will break away from the government.