Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has secured a third term in office with 51% of the vote, as announced by the country’s electoral authority just after midnight on Monday. The result, based on 80% of the counted ballot boxes, comes despite multiple exit polls suggesting an opposition win. This has sparked widespread skepticism and calls for the military to intervene.
The electoral authority declared that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez received 44% of the vote, however, the opposition had earlier expressed confidence in their performance and urged supporters to continue monitoring the vote counts. Gonzalez, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), stated, “The results cannot be hidden. The country has peacefully chosen a change.” This statement was made around 11 p.m. local time, prior to the official results being announced.
Meanwhile, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has reiterated her call for the country’s military to uphold the true results of the election. “A message for the military. The people of Venezuela have spoken: they don’t want Maduro,” she stated on X. “It is time to put yourselves on the right side of history. You have a chance and it’s now.”
Venezuela’s military has consistently supported Maduro, a 61-year-old former bus driver and foreign minister. There have been no public indications that leaders of the armed forces are planning to break from the government. The outcome of this election remains highly contested and will likely be a subject of intense scrutiny in the days to come.
