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Venezuela on brink of civil war after BOTH Putin’s pal Maduro & opposition leader declare victory in tinderbox election
The opposition asked the army to respect the 'will of the people'
VENEZUELA is on the brink of civil war after both Vladimir Putin's pal Nicolas Maduro and the opposition declared victory.
The tinderbox election has seen autocrat Maduro threaten a "bloodbath" if he loses the standoff.
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Official results said Maduro, 61, had claimed 51.2 per cent of the vote, while while opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, 74, received 44.2 per cent of the vote.
But the Venezuelan opposition has also claimed victory with their presidential candidate Gonzalez receiving 70 per cent of the vote in their own tabulation.
Maduro controls the ballot process through cronies and has been accused by the opposition of rigging the vote.
Marxist Maduro has blasted them back, saying it was the "extreme right" opposition who had committed "fraud".
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He threatened "justice" for those who challenge the results, telling cheering supporters in Caracas late Sunday night: “They are ugly faces. The gorgeous ones are the people who are here and noble.”
Maduro also accused, without evidence, foreign enemies of trying to hack the voting system of the South American country.
But Gonzalez claimed the opposition was kept from scrutinising results and said they "knew what happened".
He said: "All rules and norms were violated to an extent that we were denied seeing most of the ballots.
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"Our change for a peaceful world is still in effect and we’re convinced the majority of Venezuelans aspire to such a change.
“Our struggle continues and we’ll not rest until the will of the Venezuelan people is respected.”
Maduro says Venezuela caught Marine-turned-CIA spy with 'special weapons' meant to target oil refineries
The main opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was banned from running back in January, despite winning a primary last year.
She claimed overnight an "overwhelming" victory and that Venezuelan's "knew" the opposition had won.
"Not only did we defeat him [Maduro], politically, morally and spiritually, we defeated him with votes throughout Venezuela."
She also called on the army to respect the will of the people and the opposition won't "accept blackmailing that defence of truth is violence".
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The National Electoral Council is yet to release results from each of the 30,000 polling booths nationwide.
Long-suffering Venezuelans saw the vote as their best opportunity to end 25 years of socialist one party rule.
Caracas resident Ayari Padrn said: "This isn't possible... This is a humiliation."
Videos posted to social media on Sunday showed massive queues with claims spreading that voters were blocked from entering polling stations.
The brave turnout came after Maduro threatened last weekend that electing the opposition would see the country fall into a "bloodbath" and "civil war".
Neighbouring countries have cast doubt on Maduro's win.
Why is Venezuela's election so important?
Venezuela's election could prove a pivotal moment in the country's history.
For the last 25 years, the South American country has been ruled by a socialist party that has kept a tight grip on the country.
But the United Socialist Party of Venezuela and its leader Nicolas Maduro has overseen a massive decline in living standards in the country during his 11-year rule.
Prices have soared in a bout of hyperinflation - with the increase hitting 360 per cent in 2023.
Poverty in the country had skyrocketed and 8million people have fled to neighbouring states over the past few years.
Maduro is an ally of Vladimir Putin's and has received help from the dictator to keep his regime afloat.
Venezuela also has the largest oil reserves in the world, even larger than Saudi Arabia, with offshore deposits thought to hold over 300million barrels.
Argentina's President Javier Milei posted on X, formerly Twitter, saying that Maduro was a dictator and he should go.
He said: "Venezuelans have chosen to end the communist dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro.
"The data announce a crushing victory for the opposition and the world is waiting for him to recognize the defeat after years of socialism, misery, decadence and death.
"Argentina will not recognize another fraud, and expects the Armed Forces to defend democracy and the popular will this time. Freedom Advances in Latin America."
Maduro shot back at the chainsaw-wielding Argentinian calling him a "sociopath… who enjoys inflicting pain" and mocking his looks.
Our struggle continues and we’ll not rest until the will of the Venezuelan people is respected
Edmundo Gonzalez
Neighbour Colombia called for a total count and an independent audit of votes.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric says the results are “hard to believe” and they will not “will not recognise any result that is not verifiable”.
Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves rejected the results outright and said they considered them "fraud".
While Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo said they had "many doubts" about the results.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the results were not accurate, while on a visit to Japan.
He said: "We have serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people."
China, Cuba, Honduras, and Bolivia have backed the autocrat and sent Maduro their congratulations.
Vladimir Putin also congratulated his pal saying: "Remember that you are always a welcome guest on Russian soil."
Maduro faced a crisis following his last election win in 2018 - which was widely accepted as being fraudulent.
They are ugly faces. The gorgeous ones are the people who are here and noble
Nicolas Maduro
The leader survived mass protests, a Rambo-style coup run by ex-US special forces, and 57 countries, including the UK and US, recognising Juan Guaido as the legitimate president.
Polls for this election showed Maduro well behind as the country's economy shrunk 80 percent in a decade, has seen massive hyperinflation and also skyrocketing poverty.
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A whopping eight million Venezuelans have fled the country and the dire living conditions under Maduro's rule.
Maduro is an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who experts say could step in and provide the Venezuelan with the support to keep him in power.
How Maduro chose his opposition for the election
Nicholas Maduro has been in power in Venezuela for 11 years.
His authoritarian grip on the country and disrespect for human rights has seen him undermine free and fair elections in a number of ways.
One way he does so is by jailing his political opponents or banning them from running.
Most notably at this election was María Corina Machado.
Mochado, a former conservative lawmaker, has captured the attention of broad swathes of the public and draws massive crowds wherever she goes.
She has promised to “bury socialism forever” and create a nation where “the criminals and the corrupt go to prison.”
Machado has promised sweeping reforms and she overwhelmingly won a primary of opposition parties in October last year.
But, in January a court ruled that Machado cannot participate in any elections for 15 years due to supposed financial irregularities while she was a legislator.
Maduro has even recently stripped Machado of her bodyguard and arrested her security adviser, the latest in a number of arrests in her team.
Who Maduro has let run is Edmundo González Urrutia, a little known diplomat who represented the country in Argentina and Algeria.
If Urrutia was to win, Machado may well be the power behind the throne.
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