Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s social gathering on Sunday (May 26, 2025) swept the board in parliamentary and regional elections that had been boycotted by the opposition in protest over his disputed re-election final 12 months.
The United Socialist Party of Venezuela gained 23 out of 24 state governor positions and scored 82.68% of the votes solid for lists of National Assembly members, the electoral council (CNE) mentioned.
The constituency-level outcomes of the parliamentary vote had but to be tallied.
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The principal opposition group, led by well-liked figurehead Maria Corina Machado, had urged voters to remain away to keep away from legitimising what she described as a “farce” election.
AFP journalists who visited polling stations in a number of cities mentioned turnout was a lot decrease in comparison with the July 2024 presidential election.
The CNE put voter turnout at a bit over 42% of Venezuela’s 21 million eligible voters.
The run-up to the vote was marked by mass arrests and a brand new crackdown on dissent.
Over 70 folks had been arrested on suspicion of planning to “sabotage” the election.
Among these arrested was main opposition member Juan Pablo Guanipa, held on expenses of heading the “terrorist network” behind the alleged plot.
Venezuela’s authoritarian leftist authorities regularly alleges foreign-backed, opposition-led initiatives to topple Mr. Maduro, who took over on the loss of life of his mentor, socialist firebrand Hugo Chavez in 2013.
On Sunday (May 26, 2025), Mr. Maduro hailed the election outcomes as a “victory of peace and stability” and mentioned it “proved the power of Chavismo” – the left-wing, populist political motion based by his predecessor.
‘Farce’
The vote was for 285 members of the National Assembly and 24 governors – together with for the primary time in Essequibo, an oil-rich area managed by neighbouring Guyana however claimed by Caracas.
But many Venezuelans mentioned they misplaced religion in the electoral course of after final July’s presidential vote.
Electoral authorities shortly declared Mr. Maduro the winner of a 3rd six-year time period in that election, with out releasing detailed outcomes.
The opposition printed its personal tally from particular person polling stations, displaying a convincing win for its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.
The crackdown on post-election protests left 28 useless, a whole lot behind bars, and cemented Venezuela’s pariah standing on the world stage.
On Sunday (May 26, 2025) earlier than the outcomes had been introduced, Mr. Maduro shrugged off the opposition boycott.
“When the opponent withdraws from the field, we advance and occupy the terrain,” he mentioned matter-of-factly.
Ms. Machado printed a number of footage of abandoned polling stations on social media. She mentioned the opposition had proven the election up as a “grand farce” and referred to as on the armed forces to “act” towards Mr. Maduro – her newest name for them to mutiny.
The navy has ignored earlier such entreaties from Ms. Machado.
Writing on X, Gonzalez Urrutia, who went into exile in Spain late final 12 months, mentioned the boycott was a “silent but resounding declaration that the desire for change, dignity and a future remains intact.”
“I’m not going to vote because I voted (in the presidential election) and they stole the elections. So it’s really a farce,” mentioned Candelaria Rojas Sierra, a 78-year-old retired civil servant in San Cristobal, on her technique to mass to “pray for Venezuela.”
Samadhi Romero, a 32-year-old college scholar, nevertheless defended the election as an “important process of civic participation.”
She voted for Mr. Maduro’s son, 35-year-old MP Nicolas Maduro Guerra, who was in search of re-election in Caracas.
A small opposition faction led by two-time former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles refused to be a part of the boycott, arguing that earlier voter stayaways had merely allowed Mr. Maduro to broaden his grip on energy.
Mr. Capriles gained a parliament seat on Sunday (May 26, 2025)‘s vote.
Vote in disputed region
The election comes as the country’s financial system – as soon as the envy of Latin America, now in tatters after years of mismanagement and sanctions – faces even additional turmoil.
U.S. President Donald Trump has revoked permission for oil large Chevron to proceed pumping Venezuelan crude, doubtlessly depriving Mr. Maduro’s administration of its final lifeline.
Washington has additionally revoked deportation safety from 350,000 Venezuelan migrants in the United States and expelled a whole lot of others to a most safety jail in El Salvador.
Venezuela’s elections for the National Assembly and for state governor of Essequibo despatched alarm bells clanging internationally.
Guyana has administered the area for many years, however Caracas has threatened to partially annexe it – a menace that Mr. Maduro repeated on Sunday (May 26, 2025).
Published – May 26, 2025 12:37 pm IST
