The United States has “serious concerns” that the Venezuelan election result declaring President Nicolas Maduro the winner is not accurate, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday.
“We have serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people,” Blinken said in Japan.
Shortly before he spoke, Venezuela’s electoral council had announced that Maduro won re-election to a third six-year term with 51.2 percent of votes cast.
Independent polls had predicted Sunday’s vote would end 25 years of “Chavismo”, the populist movement founded by Maduro’s socialist predecessor and mentor, the late Hugo Chavez.
“It’s critical that every vote be counted fairly and transparently, that election officials immediately share information with the opposition and independent observers without delay, and that the electoral authorities publish the detailed tabulation of votes,” Blinken said.
“The international community is watching this very closely and will respond accordingly.”
