Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro claims election victory, refuses to publish results

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Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is widely believed to have fraudulently won Sunday's election, ensuring him another six-year term. Numerous regional governments cast doubt on the official vote tally, which showed Maduro with 51.2% of the vote with 80% of polling stations reporting.

The opposition contends that the results are not accurate, and claims that it won the election with 70% of the vote.

Polls taken over the course of the summer consistently showed opposition candidate Edmundo González winning by double-digit margins.

When the National Electoral Council announced around midnight that Maduro had received 51% of the vote compared to main opposition candidate González's 44% support, National Electoral Council President Elvis Amoroso said the results were based on 80% of voting stations and represented an irreversible trend.

Despite Maduro being declared the winner for a third term, the opposition claimed victory, setting up a showdown with the government over the results.

EXPERTS FEAR VENEZUELA'S MADURO COULD STEAL SUNDAY'S ELECTION AS OPPOSITION LEADS IN POLLS

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., condemned the result and criticized the policies of the Biden administration.

"Another foreign policy fiasco from the Biden-Harris team," he wrote on X. "They gave Maduro relief from Trump oil sanctions and released his top money launderer & his two convicted drug dealer