Venezuela’s opposition claims to have won the country’s presidential election, despite the country’s Electoral Council (CNE) announcing that incumbent President Nicolás Maduro has been re-elected.
The CNE reported Monday morning that Maduro had won his third term in office with about 51% of the vote, beating opposition candidate Edmundo González, who received about 44%.
But opposition leader Maria Corina Machado claimed that the opposition had won 70% of the vote.
“We won and the whole world knows it,” she told reporters.
González was nominated as a replacement for Machado, who has been removed from office.
Before the elections, few observers inside and outside Venezuela expected the elections to be free and fair.
In the run-up to election day, many opposition members were arrested and candidates who were critical of the government were not allowed to run for office.
In total, approximately 21.6 million people were eligible to vote, including people from abroad.
