Maduro's 3rd term officially begins in Venezuela

The election dispute that began following the elections held in Venezuela in July has reached its conclusion today. Nicolas Maduro, who was re-elected as president in Venezuela, took the oath of office today for his third term.

Maduro, who took office in 2013 as the successor to former President Hugo Chavez and has maintained his position in power for 12 years, stated at the ceremony held at the National Assembly in the capital Caracas that he swore in the name of the 16th-century indigenous leader Guaicaipuro and his mentor, the late President Hugo Chavez.

Maduro said, “May this new presidential term be a period of peace, prosperity, equality, and a new democracy. I swear on history, on my life, that I will fulfill my duty, we will fulfill it.”

NUMEROUS PROTESTS TOOK PLACE

In the presidential elections held in Venezuela on July 28, the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela announced that Maduro received 51.2 percent of the vote, while the candidate of the opposition coalition Unitary Democratic Platform (PUD), Edmundo Gonzalez, received 44.2 percent. Exit polls, however, had indicated that Maduro lost the election and that Gonzalez was the winner.

Following the announcement of the results, the US, the European Union, and some Latin American countries announced that they would not accept the election results won by Maduro until more data regarding the election was shared.

After the CNE announced that the winner of the election was Maduro, protests erupted across the country. It was reported that 27 people lost their lives and 2,400 people were detained during the protests.

TOOK REFUGE IN SPAIN

After an arrest warrant was issued for opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, who claimed to have won the election, on charges including conspiracy, forgery, and usurpation of authority, the Venezuelan government announced that the opposition candidate had left the country. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez announced that Gonzalez had requested asylum at the Spanish Embassy in Caracas “of his own volition” a few days earlier. Rodriguez stated that the Venezuelan administration had agreed to a safe passage and that Gonzalez subsequently left the country. Following Gonzalez's statement, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares reported that the opposition candidate had left the country on a Spanish Air Force plane at his own request.