President Nicolas Maduro and his opposition rival Edmundo Gonzalez have both claimed victory in Venezuela’s presidential election as the United States and others cast doubt on the official results.
The national electoral authority said Mr Maduro had won a third term with 51 per cent of the vote – a result that would extend a quarter-century of socialist rule.
But independent exit polls pointed to a big opposition win following enthusiastic shows of support for Mr Gonzalez and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on the campaign trail.
Mr Gonzalez won 70 per cent, said Ms Machado, who has been barred from holding public office.
Mr Gonzalez told supporters that the rules had been violated on polling day.
“Our message of reconciliation and peaceful change still stands … our struggle continues and we won’t rest until the will of the people of Venezuela is respected,” he said.
It was not immediately clear exactly what the opposition’s next move might be. Mr Gonzalez said he was not calling for supporters to take to the streets or commit any acts of violence.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken said Washington had serious concerns that the results announced by the electoral authority did not reflect the votes of the people. The authority is meant to be an independent body, but the opposition says it acts as an arm of Mr Maduro’s government.
Authorities delayed releasing the results from each of the 30,000 polling booths nationwide, promising only to do so in the “coming hours” and thereby hampering attempts to verify the results.
The delay in announcing a winner ignited debate within the government about how to proceed, after Mr Maduro’s opponents came out early in the evening all but claiming victory.
After finally claiming to have won, Mr Maduro accused unidentified foreign enemies of trying to hack the voting system.
“This is not the first time that they have tried to violate the peace of the republic,” he said to a few hundred supporters at the presidential palace.
He provided no evidence to back his claim, but promised “justice” for those who try to stir up violence in Venezuela.
Mr Maduro, a 61-year-old former bus driver and foreign minister, took office following the death of Hugo Chavez in 2013, and his 2018 re-election is not recognised by the United States and others, who call him a dictator.
Mr Maduro has presided over an economic collapse, the migration of about a third of the population, and a sharp deterioration in diplomatic relations, crowned by sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union and others that have crippled an already struggling oil industry.
Argentine president Javier Milei called the official election result a fraud, while Costa Rica and Peru rejected it and Chile said it would not accept any result that was not verifiable.
Spanish foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares said details from all polling stations should be presented in order to guarantee fully verifiable results. “We ask that the calm and civility with which the election day took place be maintained,” he said.
Russia, Cuba, Honduras and Bolivia cheered Mr Maduro’s victory.
“Remember that you are always a welcome guest on Russian soil,” Russian president Vladimir Putin said.
Edison Research, which conducts high-profile election polling in the United States and other countries, published an exit poll showing that Mr Gonzalez, a 74-year-old former diplomat, had won 65 per cent of the vote while Mr Maduro had won 31 per cent.
“The official results are silly,” said Edison’s executive vice-president Rob Farbman.
Local firm Meganalisis predicted a 65 per cent vote for Mr Gonzalez and just under 14 per cent for Mr Maduro.
Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report