Nicolás Maduro Wins Venezuelan Presidential Election

Nicolás Maduro was re-elected for a third term in Venezuela’s presidential elections on Sunday, winning 51.2 percent of the vote. In a press conference just past midnight on July 29, the president of Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, Elvis Amoroso, announced that with 80 percent of the ballots counted, there was an irreversible trend pointing toward a Maduro victory. Amoroso also announced that 59 percent of the electorate had participated in the elections. Right-wing candidate Edmundo González came in second place with 44 percent of the vote.

Thousands were gathered at the Miraflores Presidential Palace on Sunday evening to celebrate the birthday of the father of the Bolivarian Revolution, Hugo Chávez, and to wait for the results of the elections. After the results were announced, Maduro, accompanied by other leaders of chavismo, addressed the supporters to celebrate the victory.

“I can say before the people of Venezuela and the world: I am Nicolás Maduro Moros, re-elected president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela,” he declared, adding, “There will be peace, stability and justice. Peace and respect for the law.”

Both Amoroso and Maduro mentioned that there had been a hacker attack on the country’s electoral system. “The attorney general’s office and the public prosecutor’s office will investigate and prosecute those responsible. But we already know which country it came from.”

In his speech, Maduro thanked the various political, economic and social sectors which came together under the Great Patriotic Pole electoral alliance to elect him and to carry out the grassroots struggle against right-wing, regressive forces in the country, represented by opposition leader María Corina Machado and González.

Maduro also stated that his priorities are to advance the economic recovery of the country, to strengthen ongoing social projects, and to build spaces of national dialogue and unity amongst the diverse political and social forces in the country. Other key priorities are to continue fighting for an end to the blockade and regime of sanctions imposed on the country by the United States and the European Union, and to pass the Anti-Blockade Law.

Meanwhile, the far-right opposition led by González and Machado has refused to recognize the results of the elections. Machado assured in a press conference that González had won the elections with 70 percent of the vote to Maduro’s 30 percent. She called on her supporters to mobilize in order to “continue affirming the victory of Edmundo in all of Venezuela. … In the next few days, we will continue announcing actions to defend the truth.”

The U.S. Embassy in Venezuela, which is located in Bogotá, Colombia, released a statement after the results were announced expressing “serious concern that the result that was announced does not reflect the will nor the vote of the Venezuelan people.” In the statement, the United States called for a recount and for the ballots to be made public.

However, across Latin America and the Caribbean, political leaders and progressive movements have saluted Maduro’s victory.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel wrote on X, “Today the dignity and valor of the Venezuelan people triumphed over pressures and manipulation. I send to my brother President Nicolás Maduro our affectionate congratulations for this historic victory and the commitment of Cuba to being alongside the Bolivarian and Chavista Revolution. Brother Nicolás Maduro, your victory, which is of the Bolivarian and Chavista people, won cleanly against the pro-imperialist opposition unequivocally. In this way you also beat the regional, meddling, and Monroe-ist right wing. The people spoke and the Revolution won.”

Bolivian President Luis Arce joined fellow regional leaders in the congratulations. “We congratulate the Venezuelan people and President Nicolás Maduro for the electoral victory of this historic July 28. Great way to remember Commander Hugo Chávez. We have closely followed this democratic celebration and we salute that the will of the Venezuelan people has been respected at the polls.”

Honduran President Xiomara Castro, who is also the pro-tempore president of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, stated, “Our special congratulations and Democratic, Socialist and Revolutionary greetings to President Nicolás Maduro and to the brave people of Venezuela for their unobjectionable triumph, which reaffirms their sovereignty and the historical legacy of the Commander Chávez.”

The Iranian Embassy in Venezuela also released a statement saying, “We congratulate the great people of Venezuela and His Excellency Nicolás Maduro on the successful holding of the presidential elections in a safe, peaceful, transparent, democratic and competitive environment with a massive and broad participation of the people.”