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Maduro claims sweeping victory in Venezuela elections boycotted by opposition politicians

by Dominick Mastrangelo 12/07/20 07:59 AM ET

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Monday declared victory in the country’s congressional elections, which were boycotted by opposition party leaders and seen widely by the international community as fraudulent.

“We have recovered the National Assembly with the majority vote of the Venezuelan people,” Maduro said in a televised address, according to The Associated Press. “It’s a great victory without a doubt for democracy.”

The win gives Maduro full control of the country’s socialist government, despite cries from protesters and other world powers of a rigged election, the AP noted.

“Venezuela’s electoral fraud has already been committed,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted. “The results announced by the illegitimate Maduro regime will not reflect the will of the Venezuelan people. What’s happening today is a fraud and a sham, not an election.”

Maduro’s party reportedly claimed 67 percent of seats in the National Assembly in Sunday’s election, with 31 percent of the 20 million registered voters participating.

Maduro’s administration has for two years been opposed by U.S.-backed Venezuelan political leader Juan Guaidó as the country fights through an economic and political crisis.

Maduro says the right-wing opposition is responsible for the unrest in his country, according to the AP.

“Although I cannot promise a magic solution today, I can tell you with certainty and security: You are not alone. We will not give up,” Guaidó said. “We are going to give everything until we win.”

President Trump has criticized Maduro and pointed to the country’s problems as an example of what can happen if capitalism is not allowed to thrive.