Election crisis in Venezuela: Striking claim from opposition leader

In Venezuela, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has claimed that, according to the tally sheets in their possession, they won the presidential election with 73 percent of the vote.

Speaking to members of the press at the party headquarters in the capital Caracas, Machado argued that the election results announced by the National Electoral Council (CNE) were not accurate.

Asserting that the Unitary Democratic Platform (PUD) candidate Edmundo Gonzalez won the elections, Machado stated, "We received 73.20 percent of the votes, and these results show that our candidate Gonzalez won. The margin was very large, and we won by a landslide in all of Venezuela's states."

Machado claimed that according to the tally sheets they hold, President Nicolas Maduro received 2 million 729 thousand 256 votes, while their own candidate, Gonzalez, received 6 million 275 thousand 182 votes.

Meanwhile, the streets and avenues of the capital Caracas were silent throughout the day, and shopping centers and stores remained closed.

Venezuelan Ricardo Rodriguez stated in his remarks that he believed the elections were conducted in a reliable manner.

Expressing that challenging election results has become a habit in Venezuela, Rodriguez said, "I mean, people voted for the president they wanted to see. People are protesting the results they did not desire and are reacting against the government."

A taxi driver named Freedy Gill stated that the election results caused "great" disappointment for them and that they "definitely" did not expect these results.

Venezuelan Eduardo Lopez stated that everyone made their choice "freely," saying, "I think the elections took place like a festival of democracy. No one forced anyone, and everyone chose the best candidate they desired. Maduro did his job properly despite economic sanctions and pressures."