By Julia Symmes Cobb
CARACAS (Reuters) – President Nicolas Maduro and his opposition rival Edmundo Gonzalez both claimed victory in Venezuela’s presidential election on Monday as Washington and other foreign governments cast doubt on official results that gave the incumbent a win.
The national electoral authority said just after midnight that Maduro had won a third term with 51% of the vote – a result that would extend a quarter-century of socialist rule.
But independent exit polls pointed to a big opposition win following enthusiastic shows of support for Gonzalez and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on the campaign trail.
Gonzalez won 70%, said Machado, who had been barred from holding public office in a decision she says is unfair.
It was not immediately clear what the opposition’s next move might be. Gonzalez said he was not calling for supporters to take to the streets or commit any acts of violence.
But isolated incidents took place around the country before the announcement of results, including the death of one man in Tachira state and scuffles at polling sites in Caracas and other places. Police dispersed a protest in Catia, traditionally a ruling party bastion in western Caracas.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Washington had serious concerns that the results announced by the electoral authority did not reflect the votes of the people. The authority is meant to be an independent body but the opposition says it acts as an arm of Maduro’s government.
Caracas and Washington have long had an adversarial relationship dating back to the era of left-wing populist Hugo Chavez. Maduro first took office on Chavez’s death in 2013 and his 2018 reelection is considered fraudulent by the United States and others, who call him a dictator.
Maduro has presided over an economic collapse, the migration of about a third of the population, and a sharp deterioration in diplomatic relations, crowned by sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union and others which have crippled an already struggling oil industry.
Machado had called on the country’s military to uphold the results of the vote, saying voters had made clear they did not want Maduro.
Venezuela’s military has always supported Maduro, a 61-year-old former bus driver and foreign minister, and there have been no public signs that leaders of the armed forces are breaking from the government.
Argentine President Javier Milei called the official result fraud, while Costa Rica and Peru rejected it and Chile said it would not accept any result that was not verifiable.
Cuba, Honduras and Bolivia cheered Maduro’s victory.
Maduro reiterated his campaign assertion that Venezuela’s electoral system is transparent.
He will sign a decree on Monday to hold a “great national dialogue,” he said, as he celebrated with supporters before cutting a birthday cake for his late mentor Chavez, who would have turned 70 on Sunday.
Edison Research published an exit poll showing Gonzalez, a 74-year-old ex-diplomat known for his calm demeanor, had won 65% of the vote, while Maduro won 31%.
Local firm Meganalisis predicted a 65% vote for Gonzalez and just under 14% for Maduro.
The opposition and poll observers raised questions ahead of the vote as to whether it would be fair, saying decisions by electoral authorities and the arrests of opposition staff were meant to create obstacles.
(Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Michael Perry and Angus MacSwan)
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