(CNN) — The ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) won the controversial parliamentary elections on Sunday, announced the president of the country’s National Electoral Council, Indira Alfonzo, early Monday.
The Opposition urged the public to join them in boycotting what they called a fraudulent election, perpetrated by the questioned President Nicolás Maduro.
Reading what he said were the first electoral results for Caracas, Alfonzo announced that turnout in the elections had been 31% and that, as of early Monday morning, 83% of the votes had been counted.
(Photo by RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP via Getty Images)
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He said Maduro’s PSUV and other pro-government parties received 3,558,320 votes out of a total of 5,264,104 votes cast, or 67%. Minority opposition parties obtained less than 20% of the vote, according to the Electoral Council.
“We have a new National Assembly, elected by the people. A great victory for democracy and the constitution, “Maduro said on television early Monday, celebrating the results.
Venezuelans went to the polls on Sunday to elect a new National Assembly, as the current term of the legislative body expires at the end of the year. The majority of the Venezuelan opposition did not participate in the elections, citing the lack of minimum democratic conditions. Venezuelan opposition leaders reported very low voter turnout, just 16.1%. This was reported on Sunday night by the opposition commission known as the “Observatory against Fraud.”
Several countries, including the United States, Canada, Chile and Colombia, announced that they would not recognize the election results.
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