Venezuela: Maduro declared winner amid global skepticism

Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) formally declared incumbent Nicolas Maduro to be the winner of the country's disputed presidential election on Monday, officially securing a third six-year term with 51% of the vote.

But opponents as well as a regional and global leaders expressed doubts over the validity of the vote count, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying Washington has "serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people."

Maduro's main rival, Maria Corina Machado, had been barred from running but claimed that her surrogate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, had won 70% of the vote. The CNE, which is loyal to the government, said that he had garnered only 44%.

 "We want to say to all of Venezuela and the world that Venezuela has a new president-elect and it is Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia," Machado told journalists, adding: "We won."

As the US-based Carter Center, an independent election observer, called on the CNE to "immediately publish the presidential election results at the polling station level," Maduro claimed that "an attempt is being made to impose a coup d'état in Venezuela again of a fascist and counterrevolutionary nature."

He added: "We already know this movie, and this time, there will be no kind of weakness."

Meanwhile, Venezuela's attorney general accused Machado of being involved in an attempted hack of the country's elections system, after she disputed the election result.

Latin American countries demand review

In response to the result, the Organization of American States (OAS) called for an urgent meeting to table a resolution "to protect the will of the people in our region in accordance with the democratic charter and the foundational principles of democracy."

In the OAS statement, the governments of Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay expressed their concern over the conduct of the election and demanded "a comprehensive review of the results in the presence of independent electoral observers in order to guarantee respect for the will of the Venezuelan people who took part in the election peacefully and in large numbers."

On Monday, Panama officially withdrew its diplomats from Venezuela and suspended diplomatic ties with Caracas pending a complete review.

"Out of respect for the history of Panama, the thousands of Venezuelans who chose to live in our homeland, and my democratic convictions, I cannot allow my silence to become complicity," said right-wing President Jose Raul Mulino.

"Regimes that do not respect human rights and violate freedoms do not deserve diplomatic recognition," he added.

Peruvian Foreign Minister Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea also announced that Lima was recalling its ambassador to Caracas for consultations over the election result.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric said: "Maduro's regime must understand that the results are hard to believe. The international community and especially the Venezuelan people, including the millions of Venezuelans in exile, demand total transparency ... From Chile, we will not recognize any result that is not verifiable."

Even ahead of the vote, Javier Milei, the president of Argentina, had said his country "will not recognize another fraud and hopes that this time the Armed Forces will defend democracy and popular will."

Global community voices 'concerns' about 'irregularities'

Globally, in addition to the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain and Italy also expressed doubts and concerns over the vote.

"We call for the publication of detailed results for all polling stations and access to all voting and election documents for opposition and observers," the German Foreign Ministry said on X, formerly Twitter.

The UK said it was "concerned" by allegations of vote "irregularities." 

"We call for the swift and transparent publication of full, detailed results to ensure that the outcome reflects the votes of the Venezuelan people", the foreign office said in a statement.

The government of Spain urged "total transparency" about how the vote was conducted, with top diplomat J​ose Manuel Albares asking Maduro to release verifiable and detailed data.

Albares' Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani said his government was "perplexed" and did not think Maduro claiming victory mirrored "the will of the people."

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that "ensuring full transparency in the electoral process, including detailed counting of votes and access to voting records at polling stations, is vital," and otherwise the will of the Venezuelan people is not being respected.

Regional leaders, allies congratulate Maduro

However, other regional leaders more ideologically aligned with Maduro offered their congratulations on winning a third term, as did the president's allies from beyond Latin America.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel called the result a "historic election triumph" for Maduro.

"We have closely followed this democratic festival and we welcome the fact that the will of the Venezuelan people at the polls has been respected," said Bolivia's President Luis Arce.

Honduran President Xiomara Castro offered her "special congratulations ... and revolutionary greetings" to her Venezuelan counterpart for the "unobjectionable triumph."

Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his "warmest congratulations" in a letter published by the Kremlin.

"Russian-Venezuelan relations have the character of a strategic partnership. I am convinced that your actions at the head of state will continue to enable progressive development in all directions," Putin continued.

China also congratulated the Latin American country for "smoothly holding its presidential election," and Maduro, "on his successful re-election," said foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian.

"China stands ready to enrich our all-weather strategic partnership and better benefit the peoples of both countries," he said. "China and Venezuela are good friends and partners who support each other."

rc,mf,es/wmr (AP, AFP, Reuters)