Venezuela’s incumbent President Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner of the country’s presidential election late on Sunday, according to the head of the Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE).
In his statement, Elvis Amoroso said that 80% of the ballots had been counted and declared that Maduro, the candidate of the Great Patriotic Pole (Gran Polo Patriótico), emerged victorious in the presidential race among 10 candidates.
According to the initial results, Maduro secured 51.2% of the vote, ensuring his third victory.
The opposition coalition's United Democratic Platform (PUD) candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, came in second with 44.2%.
Opposition claims victory
However, the country's opposition coalition on Monday rejected Maduro's election victory, saying it had garnered 70 percent of the vote, not 44 percent as reported by the authority.
"We want to say to all of Venezuela and the world that Venezuela has a new president-elect and it is (candidate) Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia," opposition leader Maria Corina Machado told journalists, adding: "We won."
Amoroso said detailed results of the election would be published in tables on the CNE’s website in the coming hours. It was noted that the voter turnout was 59%.
The victorious candidate will be sworn in as president on Jan. 10, 2025.
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