Venezuela's Maduro Secures Third Term...Contradicting Exit Polls Raise 'Fraud Allegations' (Update)

Exit Poll Shows Opposition Candidate with 65% Vote Share
"Opposition Party Preparing to Raise Objections"

Venezuelan election authorities declared President Nicolas Maduro the winner of the presidential election, according to major foreign media including The Washington Post (WP) on the 29th (local time). This result is the exact opposite of the exit polls that predicted a landslide victory for the opposition coalition.

According to reports, Elvis Amoroso, chairman of the Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE), announced that with 80% of the votes counted, President Maduro secured victory with 51% of the vote. The opposition coalition candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, received 44% of the vote.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

This is the opposite of the exit poll results. According to exit polls by Edison Research, known for U.S. election polling, Gonzalez Urrutia led with 65% of the vote, far ahead of Maduro's 31%. At the time, Gonzalez Urrutia posted on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), "The people have chosen change in peace," adding, "The results cannot be denied."

AP News reported, "The electoral council, controlled by Maduro supporters, has yet to release official results from more than 15,000 polling stations, hindering the opposition's verification of results," and added, "The opposition coalition is preparing to file objections."

President Maduro is the successor to former President Hugo Chavez, who sought a third term. To end 25 years of leftist dictatorship, the opposition coalition nominated Gonzalez Urrutia, a former diplomat. Voter turnout in this election is reported to be around 54%.

Earlier, Western media predicted Gonzalez Urrutia's victory, citing severe inflation, economic collapse, rapidly deteriorating diplomatic relations, and the migration of one-third of the population during Maduro's rule. Major foreign media including AP News estimate that the number of migrants who have left Venezuela so far is between 7 and 8 million.

According to a poll by Delphos in April, about one-quarter of Venezuelans are considering emigrating if the Maduro regime is re-elected in this election. Previously, President Maduro stated, "If I lose, the country will become a bloodbath and be engulfed in civil war."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.