Despite poll results

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According to the electoral authority, Nicolás Maduro has won the presidential election in Venezuela.

(Bild: AP)

According to the electoral authorities, incumbent Nicolás Maduro has won the presidential election in Venezuela. As announced by the head of the authorities, Elvis Amoroso, on Monday night (local time) after 80 percent of the votes cast had been counted, Maduro received a majority of 51.2 percent. However, the opposition does not want to recognize the election victory. 

The most promising opposition candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, received 44.2 percent of the vote. The result is "irreversible", added the head of the electoral authorities, Amoroso.

Polls indicated a different result
However, several polls after the vote had pointed to a victory for Gonzalez, and the opposition had declared that they had "reason to celebrate". This is socialist Maduro's third term in office. However, his re-election in 2018 was not recognized internationally.

Opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez

(Bild: AP)

"The results cannot be kept secret. The country has peacefully opted for change," Gonzalez said on X shortly before the results were announced. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado once again called on the country's military to confirm the election results. "A message to the military. The Venezuelan people have spoken: They don't want Maduro," she wrote on X. "It's time to get on the right side of history. You have a chance, and you have a chance now."

The opposition had warned of irregularities and called on its election observers to remain in the polling stations until the end of the vote count. However, the opposition's main observer, Delsa Solorzano, was prevented from entering the electoral authority building.

Opposition does not recognize Maduro's election victory
On Monday, the opposition finally declared that it would not recognize Maduro's election victory. Venezuela has a new president, and his name is Edmundo González, said opposition politician María Corina Machado on Monday. He had received 70 percent of the votes.

The support for González was obvious, explained Machado. Several post-election polls and counts showed that the opposition had won the presidential election.