Venezuela’s Maduro wins landslide in election boycotted by opposition

CARACAS: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s party on Sunday swept the board in parliamentary and regional elections that were boycotted by the opposition in protest over his disputed re-election last year.

The United Socialist Party of Venezuela won 23 out of 24 state governor positions and scored 82.68 percent of the votes cast for lists of National Assembly members, the electoral council (CNE) said.

The constituency-level results of the parliamentary vote had yet to be tallied.

The main opposition group, led by popular figurehead Maria Corina Machado, had urged voters to stay away to avoid legitimizing what she described as a “farce” election.

AFP journalists who visited polling stations in several cities said turnout was much lower compared to the July 2024 presidential election.

The CNE put voter turnout at a little over 42 percent of Venezuela’s 21 million eligible voters.

The run-up to the vote was marked by mass arrests and a new crackdown on dissent.

Over 70 people were arrested on suspicion of planning to “sabotage” the election.

Among those arrested was leading opposition member Juan Pablo Guanipa, held on charges of heading the “terrorist network” behind the alleged plot.

Venezuela’s authoritarian leftist government frequently alleges foreign-backed, opposition-led initiatives to topple Maduro, who took over on the death of his mentor, socialist firebrand Hugo Chavez in 2013.

On Sunday, Maduro hailed the election results as a “victory of peace and stability” and said it “proved the power of Chavismo” — the left-wing, populist political movement founded by his predecessor.

The vote was for 285 members of the National Assembly and 24 governors — including for the first time in Essequibo, an oil-rich region controlled by neighboring Guyana but claimed by Caracas.

But many Venezuelans said they lost faith in the electoral process after last July’s presidential vote.

Electoral authorities quickly declared Maduro the winner of a third six-year term in that election, without releasing detailed results.

The opposition published its own tally from individual polling stations, showing a convincing win for its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.

The crackdown on post-election protests left 28 dead, hundreds behind bars, and cemented Venezuela’s pariah status on the world stage.

On Sunday before the results were announced, Maduro shrugged off the opposition boycott.

“When the opponent withdraws from the field, we advance and occupy the terrain,” he said matter-of-factly.

Machado published several pictures of deserted polling stations on social media.