The Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE), controlled by the ruling party, declared Nicolás Maduro the winner of the presidential elections on July 28, amid numerous questions—national and international—that accuse Chavismo of electoral fraud.
The elections took place in a climate of relative peace. However, local media report that a man was murdered in the Andean state of Táchira during the vote count at the end of the day. According to the local newspaper The nationan alleged group of paramilitary sympathizers of the regime fired mortars at the electoral center where the victim was.
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In addition, different spokespersons and voters denounced throughout the day the long waiting times in line to vote in various centers.
What was the result of the election?
Late at night, the president of the CNE, Elvis Amoroso—a recognized supporter of Chavismo— communicated the first electoral bulletin with an “irreversible” trend. After scrutinizing 80% of the polling stations, it declared Nicolás Maduro as the winner with 51.2% of the vote (around 5 million votes) and placed Edmundo González Urrutia, candidate of the opposition coalition, in second place. with 44.2% of the total votes (almost 4.5 million votes).
Immediately after the results, the opposition coalition led by María Corina Machado was unaware of Amoroso’s announcement and claimed that the true winner of the day was González Urrutia. “Venezuela has a new elected president and it is Edmundo González,” he assured.
“We won! And everyone knows it. I want you to know that this has been something so overwhelming and big that we have won in all sectors of the country,” Machado expressed in a press conference from his campaign command.
“Our fight continues and we will not rest until the will of the Venezuelan people is respected,” he added, after communicating that the true result – according to various projections of quick counts and exit polls – would give victory to the opposition with a percentage of 70% of the votes, compared to the 30% that Chavismo would have received.
Finally, Machado emphasized having proof of the electoral records to demonstrate fraud and called on the polling station witnesses not to leave the voting centers until they have possession of the records. He announced that in the coming days he will announce the actions to be taken to defend the result.
Nicolas Maduro spoke from the MIraflores Palace, headquarters of the government after the CNE press conference: “I ask as president (…): respect for the Constitution, the public powers and the sovereign life of Venezuela. “Respect for the popular will,” he shouted.
In addition, he denounced an alleged hack against the Venezuelan electoral system, although he recognized that it provides “trust, security, transparency.”
How has the Catholic Church reacted?
During the morning of July 28, the president of the CNE called a “liar” to Cardinal Baltazar Porras, who days before described the electoral process as “atypical”because there was no “equality between the participants.”
Throughout the day, various bishops exercised their right to vote, including Cardinal Porras. Before the first bulletin of results, Mons. Víctor Hugo Basabe, Archbishop of Coro, regretted that the promise of a “bloodbath” made by Chavismo in the event of losing the elections could materialize.
“They want to twist the will of the people of Venezuela who have spoken out massively and categorically. “They have taken their thugs to the streets and are forging a lie that they will never have a way to support,” he said. through your X account (formerly Twitter).
After Amoroso’s statement, Bishop Basabe said: “Definitely, how daring.” And he added: “God have mercy on Venezuela. Difficult times are coming.”
According to the press office of the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference (CEV), the bishops will speak together today, July 29, to accompany the Venezuelan people, who on Sunday after voting had taken to the streets to support the totalization process. and pray to God for freedom and justice in the country.
How has the international community reacted?
After the electoral bulletin issued by the CNE, international reactions have accumulated questioning the legitimacy of the results. At the same time, the regimes of some countries such as Russia, Iran, China, Cuba and Nicaragua demonstrated in support of Maduro, recognizing his electoral victory.
The Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, stated that he had “serious concerns that the announced result does not reflect the will or votes of the Venezuelan people.”
For his part, Gabriel Boric, president of Chile, pointed out that the results published by Chavismo “they are hard to believe”demanded the transparency of the minutes and the process and stressed that Chile will not recognize “any result that is not verifiable.”
The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, express that “Venezuelans decided to end the communist dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro” and assured that “Argentina is not going to recognize another fraud, and hopes that the Armed Forces this time will defend democracy and the popular will.”
On the other hand, Luis Lacalle Pou, president of Uruguay, he claimed that the vote counting process “was clearly flawed” and added that his country will not recognize the results if it cannot verify the figures.
The Foreign Minister of Peru, Javier González-Olaechea, condemned “the sum of irregularities with the intention of fraud on the part of the government of Venezuela.” And he added that “Peru will not accept the violation of the popular will of the Venezuelan people.”
In Europe, the vice president of the Italian government and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, expressed this Monday “many doubts” about the development of the elections in Venezuela and asked for “access to the electoral minutes.”
José Manuel Albares, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Spanish government, Indian that the will of Venezuelans “must be respected with the presentation of the minutes of all polling stations to guarantee fully verifiable results.
Andres Henriquez
I have been a writer for ACI Prensa and a correspondent for EWTN since 2023. Since then, I have covered events in the Catholic Church in Venezuela and Latin America. I have more than 5 years of experience in bilingual media. Additionally, in Venezuela I have worked with non-governmental organizations in favor of freedom and respect for human rights in the country. I have been a member of the Regnum Christi Federation since 2014.