MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chavista candidate voted Governor of Essequibo amid poor turnout

Neil Jesús Villamizar Sánchez was elected as the first governor of Guayana Essequiba

Venezuela Sunday held regional and legislative elections with a voter turnout of 42.63%. The ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), led by Nicolás Maduro, secured 23 out of 24 governorships, including the newly claimed 160,000 square-kilometer oil-rich Guayana Essequiba, and an 82.68% share of votes for the National Assembly, projecting an absolute legislative majority. The opposition won only the Cojedes governorship. Henrique Capriles secured a legislative seat for the opposition.

Neil Jesús Villamizar Sánchez was elected as the first governor of Guayana Essequiba, a territory administered by Guyana but claimed by Venezuela. The opposition, led by María Corina Machado, boycotted the elections, alleging prior fraudulent practices.

Voting centers, especially in Caracas, were reported as largely empty, with military presence outnumbering voters. The National Electoral Council (CNE), controlled by the ruling party, extended voting hours, as the opposition deemed the low turnout as a public rebuke of Maduro's government.

The Simón Bolívar Great Patriotic Pole alliance won governorships in Guayana Essequiba, Apure, Aragua, Barinas, Bolivar, Carabobo, Falcon, Guarico, Lara, Merida, Miranda, Monagas, Nueva Esparta, Sucre, Tachira, Trujillo, Yaracuy, Zulia, Amazonas, Delta Amacuro, La Guaira, Anzoategui, Portuguesa. On the other hand, the opposition won in the state of Cojedes.

CNE Vice Chairman Carlos Quintero told VTV that the ruling Chavistas won with an “irreversible trend” 40 of the 50 seats of national allotment lists for Parliament. With 93.01 % of the polling stations counted and a turnout of 42.63 %, the Gran Polo Patriotico, which gathers the ruling party, obtained 4,553,484 votes, he added.

Voting was extended one hour past the 6 pm deadline by CNE Chairman Elvis Amoroso on the alleged grounds that there were “still many participants,” which was largely questioned by the opposition. Amoroso also noted that the CNE felt proud“ of the ”active participation of the brave people of Venezuela.”

Some 21.4 million Venezuelans were summoned to the polls to elect 569 positions, among them 285 deputies to the National Assembly (NA, Parliament), 24 governors -including the governor of Essequibo- and 260 regional legislators.

Machado insisted that more than 85% of Venezuelans “disobeyed” and did not vote in the elections, which she claimed was a defeat for chavismo.