Nicolas Maduro Wins Third Term As Venezuelan President; Opposition Claims Irregularities

Nicolas Maduro has been declared as the winner of Venezuela’s presidential election. After a six-hour delay in releasing the results, the government-controlled electoral authority announced that with 80% of votes counted, Maduro secured 51.20% of the vote. At the same time, the opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez won 44% of votes. The opposition alleged that Maduro's government had severely interfered with elections. 

It is to be noted that the opinion polls predicted Gonzalez a wide lead over Maduro. According to Reuters, a poll from Edison Research had predicted that Gonzalez would secure 65% of the vote, while Maduro would win 31%. Maria Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader, rejected the election result and claimed that the opposition had won in every single state. The country's opposition also alleged that its electoral observers were unable to verify the count in certain voting sites, reported Axios.

Meanwhile, the United States also raised concerns over Venezuela's election results. "We have serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, as quoted by Reuters. Venezuela is witnessing political instability along with deteriorating economic conditions. The refugee agency UNHCR estimated that more than 7.7 million Venezuelans have left the country since 2014.