Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has won re-election with 51.2% of the vote, according to the electoral council.
The announcement was made on Sunday, after a campaign marred by claims of opposition intimidation and fears of fraud.
Maduro addressed supporters minutes after the announcement, saying: “There will be peace, stability and justice.” He thanked his supporters for their backing and promised to continue working for the benefit of the Venezuelan people.
However, the opposition has cried foul, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressing “serious concerns” that the result did not reflect the will of Venezuelan voters.
“We urge the Venezuelan government to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Venezuelans,” Blinken said.
The opposition had feared fraud and urged voters to remain vigilant during the counting process. Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, the opposition candidate, had said: “We are prepared to defend the vote and trust our armed forces to respect the decision of our people.”
The election was the result of a mediated deal between the government and opposition, but concerns over fairness were raised when several international observers were blocked from attending. The foreign ministers of seven Latin American nations called for the electoral process to “fully respect the popular will” of the Venezuelan people.
Maduro’s victory comes as the country faces severe economic challenges, with GDP dropping by 80% in a decade and over seven million citizens emigrating. The government blames sanctions, but observers also point to corruption and inefficiency.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado warned that if Maduro “grabs power,” another “three, four, five million” Venezuelans will likely join the exodus. “What’s at stake here goes beyond our borders, beyond Venezuela,” she said.
The election has sparked concerns over Venezuela’s future, with many fearing continued authoritarian rule. The government has been accused of locking up critics and harassing the opposition in a climate of rising authoritarianism.
Gonzalez Urrutia had replaced popular opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on the ticket after authorities loyal to Maduro excluded her from the race. Machado had campaigned far and wide for her proxy and urged voters to keep “vigil” at their polling stations in the “decisive hours” of counting.
The electoral process has been criticized for its lack of transparency, with ballots cast on machines that print out paper receipts placed into a container. The electronic votes go directly to a centralized database, raising concerns over potential manipulation.
The opposition had deployed about 90,000 volunteer election monitors to polling stations countrywide, but their efforts were hindered by the blocking of international observers.
The United States has temporarily eased sanctions imposed after Maduro’s 2018 reelection, which was rejected as a sham by dozens of Western and Latin American countries. However, the sanctions were snapped back after Maduro reneged on agreed conditions.
Washington is keen for a return to stability in Venezuela, an ally of Cuba, Russia, and China that boasts the world’s largest oil reserves but severely diminished production capacity. Economic misery in the South American nation has been a major source of migration pressure on the US southern border.