Venezuela's Government Claims Victory in Polls Boycotted by Opposition Leader

New York Times

26-05-2025

Venezuela's electoral council, stacked with officials loyal to the autocrat Nicolás Maduro, claimed late Sunday night that his party had won an overwhelming victory in regional and legislative elections.
The results, announced on state television and presented without evidence, stripped the opposition of some of the last few positions it held, including the governor's seat of Zulia, the country's most populous state, and the heart of its oil wealth.
Despite near empty streets and polling places, the electoral council claimed that turnout was higher than 40 percent. There were no independent observers present to verify that assertion, and the electoral council did not post the results online, as it had done in elections before 2024.
Some Venezuelans said the turnout also signaled loyalty to the country's leading opposition figure, María Corina Machado, who had called on people to abstain from voting.
The announcement comes less than a year after a presidential election in which Mr. Maduro also claimed victory, despite a vote count that showed that he had lost decisively to his opponent, Edmundo González. That count was found to be accurate by the Carter Center, an independent monitoring group, which said Mr. Maduro's claim was a 'falsification.'
Speaking on state television on Sunday night, the vice president of the electoral body, Carlos Quintero, said that an alliance of parties that support Mr. Maduro had won more than 80 percent of votes in an election for legislative seats. The same alliance had won governors' seats in 22 of the country's 23 states, Mr. Quintero said.
Previously, four states had been held by governors not aligned with the government. Now, just one, Cojedes, in central Venezuela, will be controlled by a dissenting voice.