It was just after midnight in Venezuela when the national electoral authority awarded the victory for re-candidate president Nicolás Maduro with more than half of the votes, when 80% of the ballots had already been counted. The candidate leading the opposition, Edmundo Urrutia, collected 44% of the votes.
Like this, Maduro – heir to Hugo Chávez – obtained 5.15 million votes (51.20%), ahead of Urrutia who obtained around 4.5 million votes (22.2%). The result is “irreversible,” announced the president of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Elvis Amoroso. Shortly after, Maduro declared victory. “Fascism, in the land of Bolívar and Chávez, will not pass.
Thank God for this triumph”, were the first words, stating that the electoral system has “a very high level of trust, security and transparency”.
Nicolás Maduro promised “peace, stability and justice” for Venezuela to supporters celebrating outside the presidential palace in Caracas. “There will be peace, stability and justice. Peace and respect for the law. I am a man of peace and dialogue,” he said, as the campaign and elections took place in a climate of tension, with the opposition denouncing numerous intimidations and arrests.
The opposition does not recognize the results, pointing out flaws in the electoral process. “The results are indisputable,” said the opposition leader in a post on the social network X, believing that “the country chose change in peace.”
A few hours later, in statements to journalists, Edmundo Urrutia said that electoral rules had been violated and he guaranteed that he would not stop until the will of Venezuelans was respected.
“We will not rest until the will of the Venezuelan people is respected,” said presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, in response to the first bulletin issued by the CNE.#VIVOplay by: pic.twitter.com/ES61ThZZmd
— VIVOplay (@vivoplaynet) July 29, 2024
EU calls for transparency and Portugal for “impartial verification”
The reactions of the Western world are of distrust towards the results announced in the early hours of this Monday.
In a post on the social network X, the European Union’s high representative for diplomacy, Josep Borrell, called for transparency throughout the process, “including the detailed vote count and access to the voting minutes.”
The people of Venezuela voted peacefully and en masse on the future of their country.
Their will must be respected.
It is vital to ensure full transparency in the electoral process, including detailed counting of votes and access to voting records at polling stations.— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) July 29, 2024
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed strong concerns about the consequences of the election results.
“We have serious concerns that the results announced do not reflect the will or votes of the Venezuelan people. The international community is watching closely and is following what is happening, acting responsibly,” Antony Blinken said on the sidelines of a meeting in Tokyo.
Portugal also responded via social media, asking for “impartial verification of the results”. On social media, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, headed by Paulo Rangel, said it was also monitoring the Portuguese community in Venezuela.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomes popular participation and considers it necessary to have an impartial verification of the election results in Venezuela. Only transparency will guarantee legitimacy; we call for democratic fairness and a spirit of dialogue. We will always support the Portuguese community.
— Foreign Affairs PT (@nestrangeiro_pt) July 29, 2024
(News updated at 09:30 with reaction from Portugal)
Source: www.jornaldenegocios.pt
