Nicolás Maduro Declared Winner of Venezuela Election as Opposition Claims Fraud

In a tense race, Nicolás Maduro was declared the winner of Venezuela’s presidential election and his third six-year term. Meanwhile, opposition leaders and some international observers are disputing the results. 

The Details: Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, nominally won 51.2% of votes with 80% of ballots counted. Opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia of the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), won 44.2%, according to the country’s National Electoral Council (CNE). Both candidates are claiming victory. Opposition leader María Corina Machado contended that González Urrutia actually won 70% of votes. Voter fraud and intimidation were reportedly prevalent, and some election officials have refrained from releasing paper tallies. 

For Context: The disputed results are against the backdrop of Venezuela's socioeconomic crisis, with nearly 8 million citizens emigrating during Maduro's presidency, largely due to an 80% contracted economy in less than a decade (2014-2021). 

How the Media Covered it: Coverage is similar by media outlets across the spectrum. Additionally, an image of supposed election workers in front of pie charts that allegedly depict González Urrutia substantially beating Maduro is going viral on X (formerly Twitter). The image's verity was unconfirmed as of this writing. An editor wrote this summary with the help of AllSides-powered AI.