Venezuela's Presidential Race: Nicolás Maduro Wins Amid Fraud Allegations
Venezuela's Presidential Race: Nicolás Maduro Wins Amid Fraud Allegations
"This election will not consolidate Maduro in power; rather, this is the institutionality of the illegitimacy of the Maduro regime," said AS/COA's Venezuela Working Group Head Guillermo Zubillaga on President Maduro's disputed electoral victory.
Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro emerged victoriously in a controversial presidential election Sunday, despite a call from several countries to halt the general vote. The incumbent leader will run Venezuela for the next six years amid socioeconomic turmoil.
"We are a popular victory. Thanks for so much popular conscience, for accompanying me in so many combats and making me president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela for the period 2019-2025," Maduro reportedly said, according to Venezuelan newspaper El Universal.
With 5.8 million votes, the incumbent leader trounced other presidential hopefuls such as retired serviceman Henri Falcón—who obtained 1.8 million votes—evangelical pastor Javier Bertucci, who received 942,042 votes, and electrical engineer Reinaldo Quijada, who acquired 34,600 ballots, El Universal reported. Falcón asked authorities that these elections should not be recognized, and urged a new election process in October.
