Venezuelan elected President Nicolas Maduro gestures following the election results in Caracas on April 14, 2013. (AFP Photo / Luis Acosta)
Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles said he will not accept Chavista candidate Nicolas Maduro’s victory until a full audit of the election results is carried out. Capriles has slammed the ruling party with allegations of election fraud.
With the vote split almost equally acting President Nicolas Maduro has won Venezuelan presidential election to replace Hugo Chavez.
Venezuelan election authorities have announced that with 99.12% of votes counted Maduro is leading with 50.66 per cent of the votes cast. Capriles is dragging behind with 49.07 per cent.
Around 77 per cent of the eligible voters cast their ballots, officials said.
Capriles stated that his party had reports of over 3,200 irregularities in the voting process and said that the Maduro really lost the elections.
“I want the truth to be known,” said Capriles in a speech. “We are going to do everything in our power to reveal it. Mr. Maduro, if you were illegitimate before, now you definitely are!”
Venezuelan authorities have announced that voting went smoothly and that there was no evidence of any irregularities with almost 200 international observers overseeing the voting. However, in the face of opposition protest Maduro has consented to an audit on Sunday’s vote.
Supporters of Venezuelan presidential candidate Henrique Capriles react showing their dissapointment in Caracas on April 14, 2013. (AFP Photo / Leo Ramirez)
Supporters of the Venezuelan Opposition leader Henrique Capriles wave national flag outside the place were he deliver a press conference in Caracas on April 15, 2013. (AFP Photo / Leo Ramirez)
"They [the opposition]) want an audit, we welcome the audit ... I formally request the National Electoral Commission to carry out an audit," said Maduro in a statement.
In his speech after the polls closed, Capriles urged every person to report irregularities they may have noticed.
“Today, all Venezuelans are reporters. If you see something irregular, take a picture, air it on social media,”Capriles said, adding that whatever the result would be he will “respect the will of the people.”
In his Twitter account however, Capriles lashed out at his opponents, claiming there was a plan to alter the election results. Capriles’s campaign coordinator, Ramon Guillermo Aveledo, also suggested Maduro’s party is “misleading their people and are trying to mislead the people of this country.”..............
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