Possibility of Reenacting the 2019 'One Roof, Two Presidents' System
In the Venezuelan presidential election held on the 28th (local time), incumbent President Nicolas Maduro was elected, overturning the exit poll results reported by Western media, prompting neighboring countries to raise suspicions of election fraud.
According to AFP and other agencies, the Venezuelan National Electoral Council announced around 12:10 a.m. on the 29th that President Maduro secured 51.2% of the vote (with 80% of ballots counted), making his victory certain. This result is the exact opposite of the Western media exit polls, which had predicted a win for opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez.
Neighboring countries are casting doubtful eyes on these results.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed "serious concerns that the election authorities' announcement does not reflect the wishes or votes of the Venezuelan people."
Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, stated via X (formerly Twitter), "It is important to ensure full transparency of the election process, including detailed vote counts and voting records."
Chilean President Gabriel Boric also criticized, saying, "The Maduro regime must understand that these election results are hard to believe," and added, "Chile will not recognize unverifiable results."
Peru immediately recalled its ambassador to Venezuela to discuss the situation. Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea Franco, Peru’s Foreign Minister, strongly condemned the Venezuelan government's fraudulent actions and stated, "Peru will not accept anything contrary to the will of the Venezuelan people."
The Costa Rican government also declared that it cannot accept Maduro’s announcement of victory, which it suspects to be fraudulent, and pledged to work with democratic governments in South America and international organizations to ensure the will of the Venezuelan people is respected. Argentine President Javier Milei emphasized that fraudulent elections will not be recognized.
Contrary to the intense reactions from the U.S. and neighboring countries, which had been optimistic about an opposition victory, Russia and Cuba welcomed President Maduro’s election.
Meanwhile, as the Venezuelan opposition also protested the election as fraudulent, turmoil surrounding the election results is expected to continue for the time being.
There is a possibility of a recurrence of the 2019 "two presidents under one roof" situation. Previously, President Maduro won re-election in 2018 amid opposition boycotts alleging fraud, and at that time, the opposition-controlled National Assembly appointed Juan Guaid? as "interim president" in January 2019.
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