Elections in Venezuela:Maduro declared winner, but the opposition claims the opposite

Both candidates for the presidency of Venezuela declare themselves winners, but the opposition wants to avoid clashes and street violence.

Although the Venezuelan authorities have announced the victory of the incumbent president Nicolás Maduro in the presidential elections which were held on Sunday 28 July, both contenders claimed victory.The challenger of the socialist Maduro was Edmundo González which he denounced fraud and unfair tactics both during voting practices and when the polls were closed, while the ballots were being counted. Maduro – in power since 2013 after the death of Hugo Chávez – would have won with 51 percent of the vote according to official data, despite the polls putting him at a disadvantage.Now he will be able to govern for six more years.González, on the other hand, would have brought home only 44 percent of the vote, but the opposition has repeatedly stated that it has "reasons to celebrate" its candidate's victory.

For the opposition, Edmundo González won with 70%

Maria Corina Machado, true leader of the United Platform, the opposition coalition made up of parties that have decided to join forces to defeat Maduro, he declared that González would win with 70 percent of the vote, as reported by numerous independent surveys:“Venezuela has a new president elected and it is Edmundo González.We won and the whole world knows it." he said at a press conference joint.Among the polls to which Machado refers, there is that of Edison Research which had predicted a victory for the opposition with 65 percent of the votes.Among other things Machado was unable to run himself for a ban on holding public office which forced her to pass the baton to González, a 74-year-old former diplomat, known for being a calm politician and not inclined to confrontation.

Meanwhile, Maduro celebrates his third mandate

For his part, Maduro declared that his was the victory of peace and stability in Venezuela, maintaining that both the electoral campaign and the voting process would be transparent.All this while fireworks and drones colored the sky and the night above the presidential palace, in the capital Caracas.

The United States of America also intervened through the words of Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Blinken congratulated Venezuelans for turning out to vote en masse to decide the fate of their country, but he also added that Washington is worried by the fact that "the result does not reflect the will or vote of the Venezuelan people" by asking the electoral commission to make the results of the vote public.

According to what Reuters reported, in fact, there would have been queues outside the polling stations to vote since the early hours of the morning on Sunday.Queues also caused by a delay in opening hours in some locations.The authorities, for their part, say that the turnout was almost 60 percent and that the announcement of Maduro's victory reached 80 percent of the votes counted.