The National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela declares the winner of the presidential election to the president Nicolas Madurothus re-elected for a third term, with the 51.2% of the votesaccording to partial results.

Maduro himself, who has been in power since 2013, has asked “respect for the popular will” After being proclaimed re-elected president, following an election in which he competed against nine rivals, including the standard-bearer of the majority opposition, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.

According to the CNE, Maduro has obtained 5.1 million votes with 80% of the vote counted. González, for his part, has been left in second place with 44% and 4.4 million votes. The participation rate in this Sunday’s elections has exceeded previous elections by more than 10 percentage points, reaching 59%.

The CNE denounces an “aggression” against the electoral system

The president of the CNE, Elvis Amoroso, explained in a press conference that he was addressing “all the people of Venezuela in use of his exclusive constitutional and legal powers” more than six hours after the closing of the polling stations due to “a assault on the data transmission system which has delayed” the transmission of the results.

In this regard, he reported that he has “immediately” requested the country’s attorney general to launch an investigation “into the terrorist actions perpetrated“against the electoral system, against the voting centres and the electoral officials. Thus, he has made an appeal to Venezuelans “to respect the Constitution, the laws of the Republic and the mandate of the people expressed in the voting machines, as well as peace” throughout the territory.