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Electoral authorities claimed that Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s deeply unpopular president, had won a third term in Sunday’s election, sparking accusations that his authoritarian regime had committed massive fraud to steal victory from opposition candidate Edmundo González.
After hours of delays and uncertainty, Elvis Amoroso, president of the National Electoral Council and a close Maduro ally, appeared before journalists shortly after midnight on Monday. He declared that Maduro had won with 51% compared to 44% for González, with 80% of the votes counted.
However, opposition leader María Corina Machado insisted that González, a 74-year-old retired diplomat who took Machado’s place on the presidential ballot when the regime banned her from running, had won 70% of the vote compared to 30% for Maduro.