World leaders express skepticism over Venezuela vote tally

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro promised "peace, stability, and justice" early on Monday after the electoral council confirmed he had won 51% of the vote in the country's national election.

However, world leaders expressed their doubts about the validity of the vote count. Maduro's main rival, Maria Corina Machado, had been barred from running and Caracas had rejected attempts by international observers to verify the election.

After the results, Machado said that her surrogate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, had won 70% of the vote. The electoral council, which is in its majority loyal to the government, said that he had garnered only 44%.

 "We want to say to all of Venezuela and the world that Venezuela has a new president-elect and it is Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia," opposition leader Maria Corina Machado told journalists, adding: "We won."

Global community voices 'serious concerns' about vote

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Washington had "serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people."

Chilean President Gabriel Boric said: "Maduro's regime must understand that the results are hard to believe. The international community and especially the Venezuelan people, including the millions of Venezuelans in exile, demand total transparency ... From Chile, we will not recognize any result that is not verifiable."

Ahead of the vote, Javier Milei, president of Argentina, had said his country "will not recognize another fraud and hopes that this time the Armed Forces will defend democracy and popular will."

Peruvian Foreign Minister Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea announced that Lima was recalling its ambassador to Caracas for consultations over the election result.

The government of Spain urged "total transparency" about how the vote was conducted, with top diplomat J​ose Manuel Albares asking Maduro to release verifiable and detailed data.

Albares' Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani said his government was "perplexed" and did not think Maduro claiming victory mirrored "the will of the people."

Regional leaders congratulate Maduro

However, other regional leaders more ideologically aligned with Maduro offered their congratulations on winning a third term.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel called the result a "historic election triumph" for Maduro.

"We have closely followed this democratic festival and we welcome the fact that the will of the Venezuelan people at the polls has been respected," said Bolivia's President Luis Arce.

Honduran President Xiomaro Castro offered his "special congratulations...and revolutionary greetings" to his Venezuelan counterpart for the "unobjectionable triumph."

es/rc (AP, AFP, Reuters)