2018 Venezuelan presidential election

2018 Venezuelan presidential election
← 2013 20 May 2018 (2018-05-20) 2024 →
Turnout45.73% (Decrease 33.92pp)
 
Candidate Nicolás Maduro Henri Falcón Javier Bertucci
Party PSUV Progressive Advance El Cambio
Alliance GPPSB — —
Popular vote 6,248,864 1,927,958 989,761
Percentage 67.85% 20.93% 10.75%
Results by state
Results by municipality
Maduro:      40–49%      50–59%      60-69%      70-79%      80-89%      90-99%
Falcón:      40–49%      50–59%
President before election

Nicolás Maduro
PSUV

Elected President

Nicolás Maduro
(disputed with Juan Guaido)
PSUV

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Presidential elections were held in Venezuela on 20 May 2018,[1] with incumbent Nicolás Maduro being declared re-elected for a second six-year term.[2] The original electoral date was scheduled for December 2018 but was subsequently pulled ahead to 22 April before being pushed back to 20 May.[3][4][5] Some analysts described the poll as a sham election,[6][7] as many prominent opposition parties had been barred from participating in it. The elections had the lowest voter turnout in Venezuela's democratic era.[2][8]

Several Venezuelan NGOs, such as Foro Penal, Súmate, Voto Joven, the Venezuelan Electoral Observatory and the Citizen Electoral Network expressed their concern over the irregularities of the electoral schedule, including the lack of the Constituent Assembly's competencies to summon the elections, impeding participation of opposition political parties, and the lack of time for standard electoral functions.[9] Because of this, the European Union,[10][11] the Organization of American States, the Lima Group and countries including Australia and the United States rejected the electoral process.[12][13] However, some countries including Belarus, China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Palestine, Russia, Syria, Turkey and others recognized the election result.[14]

The two leading candidates opposing Maduro, Henri Falcón and Javier Bertucci, rejected the results, saying that the election was critically flawed by irregularities. Bertucci asked that the elections be repeated with Maduro being disqualified.[15][16] Maduro was inaugurated on 10 January 2019, leading to a presidential crisis.[17]

  1. ^ Martinez, Ana Isabel (1 March 2018). "Venezuela postpones presidential election to May 20". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :9 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Venezuela opposition weighs election run". BBC News. 8 February 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  4. ^ "CNE: El 22 de abril se realizarán las presidenciales". Globovision (in Spanish). 7 February 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  5. ^ Redacción, Voz de América - (1 March 2018). "Postergan elecciones en Venezuela hasta mayo" (in Spanish). Voice of America. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  6. ^ Sen, Ashish Kumar (18 May 2018). "Venezuela's Sham Election". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 20 May 2018. Nicolás Maduro is expected to be re-elected president of Venezuela on May 20 in an election that most experts agree is a sham
  7. ^ "Venezuela's sham presidential election". Financial Times. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018. The vote, of course, is a sham. Support is bought via ration cards issued to state workers with the implicit threat that both job and card are at risk if they vote against the government. Meanwhile, the country's highest profile opposition leaders are barred from running, in exile, or under arrest.
  8. ^ "Maduro gana con la abstención histórica más alta en comicios presidenciales". Efecto Cocuyo. 20 May 2018. Archived from the original on 21 December 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  9. ^  • Rodríguez Rosas, Ronny (23 February 2018). "Foro Penal no avala convocatoria a elecciones presidenciales". Efecto Cocuyo. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference :11 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference :13 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^  • Martín, Sabrina (8 February 2018). "Unión Europea prepara nuevas sanciones contra la dictadura en Venezuela y la estatal PDVSA". Panam Post. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  13. ^ "Seis países reunidos por G-20 desconocen el proceso ilegítimo de Venezuela". La Patilla (in European Spanish). 21 May 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  14. ^  • Wyss, Jim (14 April 2018). "Washington and Cuba butt heads over Venezuela at heated Americas summit". Miami Herald. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  15. ^ Phillips, Tom (21 May 2018). "Venezuela elections: Nicolás Maduro wins second term". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  16. ^ "BERTUCCI PIDE NUEVAS ELECCIONES SIN MADURO". La Prensa (in Spanish). 20 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  17. ^ "EU nations endorse Venezuela opposition leader over Maduro". The Washington Post]. 4 February 2019. Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.