Maduro Wins Venezuelan Presidential Election with 50.66 Percent of the Vote [updated]

Nicolas Maduro has won the Venezuelan presidential election with 50.66 percent of the vote against 49.07 percent for opposition candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski. Maduro gave a victory speech immediately after, while Capriles has not recognized the defeat.

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Maracaibo, April 14th, 2013 (Venezuelanalysis.com) – Nicolas Maduro has won the Venezuelan presidential election with 50.66 percent of the vote against 49.07 percent for opposition candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski. Maduro gave a victory speech immediately after, while Capriles initially refused to recognize the results.

The “first bulletin” results were announced by the president of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Tibisay Lucena, at around 11:20 p.m. Venezuelan time, with 99.12 percent of the votes totaled, enough to give Maduro an irreversible victory.

Nicolas Maduro received a total of 7,505,338 votes, against 7,270,403 for opposition candidate Henrique Capriles, a difference of 234,935 votes. Total turnout was 78.71 percent of the electorate.

Of twenty four states and regional entities, Capriles won a majority in eight: Zulia, Miranda, Lara, Anzoátegui, Táchira, Mérida, Nueva Esparta and Bolívar.

Maduro won a majority in the other sixteen. In the October 2012 presidential election, Hugo Chavez won a majority in all states apart from Merida and Tachira in the Andean region.

Given the closeness of the vote, Maduro’s speech focused mostly on assuring the validity of his victory, and the reliability of the electoral body.

“If they want to do an audit, then do an audit. We have complete trust in our electoral body,” he said from outside the presidential palace.

“We have the only electoral body in the world in which 54 percent of the total votes are audited,” he added.

Maduro also noted that in other countries presidents often win by slim margins, and that it is recognized as a victory, and said to opposition sectors that “this is no reason to create violence”.

CNE Rector Vicente Díaz immediately requested that 100 percent of the electoral results be audited in order to make the results more transparent.

“This tight result has lead me to request that the CNE conduct a citizens’ audit of 100 percent of the ballot boxes. The country needs it,” he said.

Maduro immediately accepted the request, and assured there was no problem in doing a complete audit.

“Let’s do it! No problem. Perhaps they will find that my victory will be larger,” he said.

Maduro supporters had gathered at the presidential palace to await the results, and remained to celebrate the victory after Maduro’s speech.

Meanwhile, opposition supporters awaited in the Caracas neighborhood of Bello Monte to hear their candidate’s concession speech.

Initial comments from various opposition leaders appeared to indicate that they were confident they had won, and that they would not accept defeat.

Capriles wrote on his Twitter account hours before the official results were released that the government was planning to “change the results”.

“We warn the country and the world that there is the intention to change the will [of the people],” he wrote.

Upon the release of the official results, Capriles held a press conference in which he claimed that the victory was “illegitimate” and refused to recognize Maduro’s victory until all ballots are audited.

“I don’t make pacts with those who are corrupt or illegitimate,” said Capriles, assuring he would not agree to accept the results.

“The one who has been defeated is you and everything you represent,” he said referring to Nicolas Maduro.

Capriles claimed that the results are not truly representative of the Venezuelan population, and assured that the Maduro government was “completely illegitimate”.

Here, VA.com publishes the CNE’s “first bulletin” results in full:

State

Candidate

Votes

Percentage

Distrito   Capital

Nicolás   Maduro

651.062

51.32%

Henrique Capriles

611.359

48.19%

Amazonas

Nicolás   Maduro

35.867

51,94%

Henrique   Capriles

33.095

47,92%

Anzoátegui

Nicolás   Maduro

382.599

47,31%

Henrique   Capriles

424.304

52,46%

Apure

Nicolás   Maduro

134.192

61,21%

Henrique   Capriles

84.711

38,64%

Aragua

Nicolás   Maduro

512.379

54,05%

Henrique   Capriles

432.265

45,60%

Barinas

Nicolás   Maduro

210.667

52,00%

Henrique   Capriles

193.925

47,86%

Bolívar

Nicolás   Maduro

347.332

47,75%

Henrique   Capriles

377.857

51,95%

Carabobo

Nicolás   Maduro

606.772

50,39%

Henrique   Capriles

594.237

49,35%

Cojedes

Nicolás   Maduro

107.370

61,15%

Henrique   Capriles

67.898

38,66%

Delta   Amacuro

Nicolás   Maduro

46.012

59,68%

Henrique   Capriles

30.909

40,09%

Falcón

Nicolás   Maduro

264.561

53,03%

Henrique   Capriles

233.279

46,76%

Guárico

Nicolás   Maduro

226.667

59,09%

Henrique   Capriles

156.288

40,74%

Lara

Nicolás   Maduro

457.670

47,31%

Henrique   Capriles

507.074

52,42%

Mérida

Nicolás   Maduro

201.200

42,81%

Henrique   Capriles

267.997

57,02%

Miranda

Nicolás   Maduro

734.719

47,24%

Henrique   Capriles

814.224

52,35%

Monagas

Nicolás   Maduro

259.321

55,36%

Henrique   Capriles

208.102

44,43%

Nueva   Esparta

Nicolás   Maduro

125.143

46,90%

Henrique   Capriles

141.236

52,94%

Portuguesa

Nicolás   Maduro

297.469

65,19%

Henrique   Capriles

157.465

34,51%

Sucre

Nicolás   Maduro

265.243

57,45%

Henrique   Capriles

195.797

42,41%

Táchira

Nicolás   Maduro

233.249

36,90%

Henrique   Capriles

397.810

62,94%

Trujillo

Nicolás   Maduro

232.684

59,73%

Henrique   Capriles

156.024

40,05%

Vargas

Nicolás   Maduro

117.522

56,93%

Henrique   Capriles

88.013

42,63%

Yaracuy

Nicolás   Maduro

182.060

56,47%

Henrique   Capriles

139.547

43,29%

Zulia

Nicolás   Maduro

873.578

47,63%

Henrique   Capriles

956.987

52,18%

Venezuelanalysis.com will provide additional reporting, images and videos on the reactions to tonight’s historic presidential election result in the coming hours and days.