Election results suggest that when President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela vowed to win the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election by “hook or by crook,” “crook” was the route he took. Nevertheless, opposition leaders and candidate Edmundo Gonzalaz haven’t given up their fight for a free Venezuela.
Maduro was the appointed “heir” of Hugo Chavez, of Venezuela’s United Socialist Party and whose leadership saw the oil-rich nation suffer the worst peace-time economic crash in recent history. (RELATED: Venezuelan Elections Held Hostage)
Chavez and his loyal Chavitas turned Venezuela into a nation known for violence and drug trafficking. Maduro has continued to follow the Chavismo ideology founded by his predecessor.
25 years of Chavismo rule has driven discontentment so high that 20 percent of the population has left the country. A recent poll indicated that an additional 10 percent would leave if Maduro were re-elected.
This election marks the first time Venezuelan opposition parties managed to unite against Maduro instead of fighting one another.
The candidate for the opposition, Edmundo Gonzalez of the Democratic Unity Roundtable, a coalition for the many opposition parties, was a “third string” pick.
Opposition leader María Corina Machado of the classical liberal Vente Venezuela Party won 90 percent of the vote from the opposition primary but was banned from running for office for 15 years by the Venezuelan Supreme Court.
She named Corina Yoris as her substitute, but she was also prevented from running due to a “computer glitch” on the registration page. Gonzalez, a retired diplomat, was finally settled upon and is backed by Machado who has also campaigned on his behalf.
When 80 percent of the votes had been counted, Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, which is in charge of the election process, announced that Maduro had won a third term.
The opposition immediately decried the results and stated that Gonzalez had won with 70 percent of the vote and Maduro had only earned 30 percent. (READ MORE: Even the Religious Will Fight)
Both parties are claiming victory.
A minuscule fraction, just 69,211 people of the millions of Venezuelans living abroad, were allowed to vote in the election. Within the country, there were issues at poll stations. Maduro’s face was emblazoned inside many polling centers and on nearly every street. Some polling centers did not open at all. Others only let in small amounts of people at a time sparking accusations of deliberate delays. Many international observers of the election were also uninvited, further raising concerns of fraud.
An exit poll conducted by U.S. firm Edison Research indicated that Gonzalez led 65 percent to Maduro’s 31 percent. A poll by Meganalisis, a local Venezuelan firm, also indicated that 61 percent of Venezuelans would vote for Gonzalez and just 9.8 for Maduro.
Officials have not yet released the results of the election so that they can be verified. After winning, Maduro also accused an unspecified foreign enemy of meddling in the election. Later, Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab claimed it was North Macedonia who was behind the attack that was intended to manipulate votes.
Maduro, at a rally earlier this month, claimed that “The destiny of Venezuela depends on our victory.” If that didn’t happen, he made sure to instill fear of a “bloodbath” and “fratricidal civil war triggered by the fascists.”
Both sides are also vying for the support of the military. Some soldiers are already beginning to express their discontent particularly after a post on X by opposition leader María Corina Machado called on the military to “put themselves on the right side of history.”
Despite the controversy, choreographed celebrations occurred across the capital, Caracas, to celebrate Maduro’s “win.” Fireworks were shot off and carefully curated television broadcasts showed jubilant crowds while dismissing the weeping opposition supporters mourning their chance at freedom. (READ MORE: Where Was JD Vance?)
The opposition maintains that they were the victors in the elections and have urged people to stay calm while they defended the election. Maduro has ordered the Attorney General to begin criminal prosecution of the opposition and appears to be using the North Macedonian “attack” to jail his opponents and delay releasing election results.
International responses have been mixed.
Russia, Cuba, China, Iran, Honduras, and Nicaragua congratulated Maduro on his “victory.”
Others, including the United States, EU, and Argentina, have expressed doubt about the validity of the elections. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated “[w]e have serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people.”
Many called for a “verifiable” vote count and have refused to recognize Maduro as the winner until the results are confirmed.
“Our fight will continue,” González said on Monday during a news conference. “We won’t stop until the will of the people is respected.
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