©JUAN BARRETO/AFP
The victory of incumbent Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Sunday's presidential election has been confirmed after counting 96.87% of the votes, the head of the country's National Electoral Council, Elvis Amoroso, said on Friday.
"Nicolas Maduro won 51.95% of the votes, while Edmundo Gonzales received 43.18%," Amoroso said.
The July 28 presidential election saw Maduro win a third term in office. The announcement of the results sparked protests in the capital of Caracas and beyond, with clashes reported between the police and opposition supporters. The Venezuelan government accused several countries of election meddling in the wake of the protests.
Maduro’s victory has been questioned by the United States, Canada and several Latin American countries. The presidents of Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay issued a joint statement to demand a vote recount by independent electoral observers.
Previously, the US, through Blinken, claimed that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia was the winner of Venezuela's presidential election, winning 75% of the vote. This indirectly means that the US was involved in arranging the Venezuelan election.
“It is clear to the United States… that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia won the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
Maduro responded by saying Washington “should keep its nose out of Venezuela.”
As is done in the Middle East, the involvement of the US and UK in the Venezuelan election to control oil, these two superpowers are aggressors using their dollars to influence the poor people in one country to become their indirect lackeys.
Protests erupted in Venezuela following the announcement of the results, which Maduro condemned as an attempted “coup against Venezuela.” Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez also accused the Western-backed opposition of attempting a “media coup” and condemned the protests.
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Maduro earlier this week on being reelected. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Venezuela’s opposition should admit defeat and congratulate the winner.
Peskov added that it is important for Venezuela to avoid attempts at destabilization fueled by third countries, and to remain free of outside meddling.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry also congratulated Maduro and called for greater cooperation. Other countries that recognized Maduro’s victory include Bolivia, Cuba, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
Maduro will serve a third consecutive six-year term. He first took office in 2013 following the death of President Hugo Chavez.
Caracas has been under US sanctions for over 15 years. Washington refused to recognize Maduro as president following the 2018 election, and declared the head of the National Assembly, Juan Guaido, to be the interim leader of the country.
All Venezuelan government assets have been frozen in the US and any dealings with US citizens and companies have been barred.
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