Incumbent Nicolas Maduro was declared the victor in an election marred by accusations of fraud and intimidation. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said that her surrogate had actually won 70% of the vote. Nicolas Maduro promised “peace, stability, and justice” early on Monday after the electoral council confirmed he had won 51% of the vote in the country’s national election.
However, world leaders expressed their doubts about the validity of the vote count. Maduro’s main rival, Maria Corina Machado, had been barred from running and Caracas had rejected attempts by international observers to verify the election.
After the results, Machado said that her surrogate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, had won 70% of the vote. The electoral council, which is in its majority loyal to the government, said that he had garnered only 44%.
“We want to say to all of Venezuela and the world that Venezuela has a new president-elect and it is Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia,” opposition leader Maria Corina Machado told journalists, adding: “We won.”
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