On July 28, 2024, Venezuela's National Electoral Council announced that President Nicolas Maduro had secured 51% of the national vote, ensuring a third six-year term for Maduro’s administration. At the same time, opposition leader and presidential candidate Edmundo González’s team claimed the exact opposite: that González had secured the victory by a large margin. Their claim is based on the voting tallies they gathered from campaign representatives from almost half of the national ballot boxes.
This election dispute is sure to cause widespread concern among the South American nation. Thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets in both protests and support of the current administration. Opposition candidate González said in a statement:
“The Venezuelans and the entire world know what happened.”
Foreign leaders are taking caution in recognizing Maduro’s supposed victory. United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a statement:
“We have seen the announcement just a short while ago by the Venezuelan Electoral Commission. We have serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people.”
Sources:
Otis, J. (2024, July 29). Protesters take to the streets in Venezuela over contested presidential election. https://www.npr.org/2024/07/29/nx-s1-5055646/venezuelas-authoritarian-leader-claims-victory-but-opposition-cries-foul
(2024, July 29). Venezuelan opposition says it has proof its candidate defeated President Maduro in disputed election. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-presidential-election-maduro-machado-edmundo-results-acee6c8cd3a8fc88086c2dd71963b759
Reuters.Com. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuelans-vote-highly-charged-election-amid-fraud-worries-2024-07-28/
News, A. (2024, July 29). Blinken says US has 'serious concerns' about announced result of Venezuelan election. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/blinken-us-concerns-announced-result-venezuelan-election-112359731
(2024, July 28). Maduro is declared winner in Venezuela's presidential election as opposition claims it prevailed. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-presidential-election-maduro-machado-edmundo-5ce255ae90614162590bfe1207d2e1d0
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