SAEDNEWS: Nicolas Maduro, 61, is declared the winner in Venezuela’s presidential election by the electoral authority.
According to SAEDNEWS, Nicolás Maduro, 61, is declared the winner in Venezuela’s presidential election by the electoral authority, setting up a high-stakes showdown that will determine whether the South American nation transitions away from one-party rule.
Elvis Amoroso, head of the National Electoral Council, says Maduro secured 51 percent of the vote, overcoming opposition candidate Edmundo González who garnered 44 percent. He said the results were based on 80 percent of voting stations, marking an irreversible trend.
The results announced by the national electoral council contradict several exit polls that showed a win for Gonzalez.
Gonzalez represents a coalition of opposition parties after main opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was banned from running for office. An opposition victory could bring 25 years of socialist rule to an end.
Venezuela has suffered an economic collapse over the past decade that has forced nearly one-third of its population to leave the country. Western sanctions have further damaged its oil industry.
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