Clinging to power Pressure on Maduro as analysis shows election was stolen

It is not new for Nicolás Maduro to be accused of attempting to steal a presidential election - the US described his claim to have won re-election in 2018 as an "insult to democracy" - but the evidence for such allegations has never before been quite so overwhelming.

-  Tiago Rogero

Analyses carried out by the opposition, academics and media organisations have offered strong evidence to suggest that the Venezuelan president lost - by a landslide to the main opposition candidate, the retired diplomat Edmundo González.

A number of countries have already recognised González's victory, and even countries with leftwing governments once seen as sympathetic to Maduro (such as Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico) are demanding proof of his alleged victory - something he has promised but seems increasingly unlikely to provide.

For now at least, the incumbent clings to power, having pulled off what one expert has described as "the largest electoral fraud in Latin America's history".

Independent observers agree that this election was never going to be fair and free. From the start, the electoral process was plagued by irregularities, according to the Venezuelan NGO Transparencia Electoral. The list ranges from blocking candidates from runningsuch as the opposition leader María Corina Machado, who was then replaced by González - to making it almost impossible for millions of Venezuelans living abroad to vote.

Dozens of opposition members were arrested during the campaign, and international observers were either blocked or disinvited from monitoring the vote.

On election day, some voters found polling stations had been moved without warning while in historically Chavista areas, there were reports of polling stations being kept open long after the official closing time.

After years of economic decline and a humanitarian crisis that has led to about 8 million Venezuelans emigrating, opinion polls indicated a strong lead for González.