President Nicolás Maduro Moros and his son, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, celebrate the electoral results announced by the CNE on the night of May 25. Maduro Guerra ran as a candidate in Caracas. Photo: Presidential Press.
Guacamaya, May 26, 2025. This Sunday, legislative and regional elections were held, concluding with the announcement of a sweeping officialist victory. The process was marked by questionable voter turnout, accusations of illegitimacy, and the imprisonment of opposition leaders who did not participate in the call to vote, just hours before the election.
According to the results shared by the National Electoral Council (CNE), which is almost entirely controlled by officials aligned with Chavismo, the officialist alliance of the Great Patriotic Pole (GPP) obtained 82.68% of the votes. This figure allows them to claim 40 of the 50 contested seats in the National List for Parliament, as well as 23 of the 24 governorships at stake.
Official turnout was recorded at 42.63% of the electoral registry, with more than 5.5 million voters, according to the CNE. However, this official figure contrasts with the observations of journalists and independent analysts. Electoral specialist journalist Eugenio Martínez pointed out that the percentage of reported votes does not correspond to the total number of registered voters.
Chavismo Proclaims Its Victory and Calls for Peace
After the results announced by the CNE were made public, President Nicolás Maduro celebrated the officialist victory. The leader highlighted the “strength of Chavismo” and the “resilience of the Venezuelan people” in the face of adversity and international sanctions. “Today we have demonstrated the power of Chavismo. This people has managed to resist,” Maduro stated from the Government Palace.
In turn, Jorge Rodríguez, current president of the National Assembly and deputy elected first on the National List of the Great Patriotic Pole, was another of the first officialists to speak out. In his narrative, he also proclaimed that the opposition’s defeat would be “the definitive seal for peace in Venezuela.”
“Today we have all written, together, as if they were millions and millions of intertwined hands, a glorious page in the history of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Peace be with us, peace be with you. Venezuela is heading toward a future of prosperity,” Rodríguez expressed.
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López, for his part, appeared minutes before the announcement of the first bulletin. “Venezuela is triumphant with its democracy, aware of its path and its progress toward a promising future, maintaining a constant rejection of sanctions,” he stated from the headquarters of the Strategic Operational Command alongside a group of military officials.
Opposition Voices Denounce “Electoral Farce”
The opposition, largely divided and mostly absent from the electoral process, denounced an “electoral farce.” Leaders such as María Corina Machado called for abstention after demanding the detailed publication of the results of the July 28 presidential elections. This was compounded by reports of at least 70 arrests of leaders and activists just 48 hours before the election.
Machado stated that abstention was even higher than officially announced and praised what she considered an act of bravery by Venezuelans. “More than 85% of Venezuelans disobeyed this regime and said no. Today, the regime’s strategy of terror failed. Even public employees also said no,” she said through her social media.
For his part, Edmundo González Urrutia, whom the majority opposition considers the winner of the last presidential elections, expressed: “Today we witnessed an event that tried to disguise itself as an election but failed to deceive the country or the world. The people did not validate a sham that sought to legitimize what is inherently illegitimate. What the world saw today was an act of civic courage.”
The Opposition That Did Vote: Statements from Capriles and Rosales
On the side of the sectors that participated in the process and promoted voting, a key figure stands out: Henrique Capriles Radonski. Despite having secured a seat as a deputy in the National Assembly by leading the Única-UNT alliance, the leader offered strong statements about the finally announced results and their implications for the country.
Capriles described the election day as a “victory for abstention” and warned that the result directly favored Nicolás Maduro’s government. “This was a foreseeable outcome. Abstention won, and with it, the regime and those who promoted it,” he stated. However, he thanked Venezuelans who, despite the adversities, went out to vote “against power and arbitrariness.”
Similarly, Manuel Rosales, current governor of Zulia state, publicly acknowledged his defeat in the reelection bid and continued to defend the electoral path. “We will continue on the electoral route, even with the pain it causes us, with the truth ahead. The country needs an alternative, and we will not abandon the democratic struggle,” he emphasized in a press conference.
Rosales also referred to the opposition sectors that pushed for the call to abstention. “To those who promoted my loss, I hope they do not regret it. I have always stood firm and fought for Zulia and Venezuela. I regret nothing, because I have always acted with the truth,” said the Zulian leader.
Alberto Galíndez, the only opposition governor elected in the race, expressed his gratitude to the people of Cojedes for their support and trust in his administration.
“I will govern with greater wisdom and greater accuracy. I am committed to listening to the people and working for the achievements that Cojedes deserves,” he said.
Galíndez also highlighted citizen participation in the Cojedes state during yesterday’s elections and the challenge of being the only opposition governor elected.
“The people came out to vote, we were the state with the highest percentage of voters, but we will be, let’s say, the state that will be supervised and watched by the whole country,” he warned.
No public statements have yet been made by Bernabé Gutiérrez, the elected deputy who headed the National List to the Assembly for the Democratic Alliance.
