VENEZUELA: Maduro Wins Presidential Election Amid Low Participation Rate

(RTTNews) - Nicolas Maduro was re-elected for a new six-year term as president of Venezuela on Sunday, but more than half of the potential voters refrained from casting a ballot and opposition candidates rejected the results, arguing that there is evidence of fraud.

The National Electoral Council of Venezuela said that Maduro won the election with 67.7% of the votes. Henri Falcon was the runner-up with 21.2%, and Javier Bertucci ended in the third place with a 10.7% support.

The Council also said that 8.603 million voters took part in the electoral process, less than half of the 20.52 million people registered to vote in Venezuela. Supporters from opposition candidates largely boycotted the poll. Falcon refused to accept the election result and called it a fraud.

"Not only there was a violation of the [electoral] guarantees, but also of the Constitution. We do not recognize the electoral process and consider illegitimate," he said in a Twitter post, calling for new elections.

The United States mission in the United Nations said that the "so-called 'election' in Venezuela is an insult to democracy. We will continue to stand with the Venezuelan people fighting for a brighter future for their country. It's time for Maduro to go."

Sebastian Pinera, the Chilean president, also criticized the Venezuelan election, arguing that the country's electoral process fails to comply with the minimal standards of a democracy.

"Those are not clean and legitimate elections, and they do not represent the free and sovereign will of the people. Chile, like most democratic countries, does not recognize those elections," he said.

The Bolivian president, Evo Morales, congratulated Maduro. "The sovereign Venezuelan people have triumphed again against coup supporters and interventionism from the United States imperium. Free people will never submit," he said on Twitter.