CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was formally declared the winner of his country’s disputed presidential election Monday, a day after the political opposition and the entrenched incumbent both claimed victory in the contest.
The National Electoral Council, which is loyal to Maduro’s ruling party, announced his victory, handing him a third six-year term as the leader of an economy recovering from collapse and a population desperate for change. The ministers of defense, communications, technology and the head of the National Assembly were among those in attendance who applauded.
“We have never been moved by hatred. On the contrary, we have always been victims of the powerful,” Maduro said in the nationally televised ceremony. “An attempt is being made to impose a coup d’état in Venezuela again of a fascist and counterrevolutionary nature.”
“We already know this movie, and this time, there will be no kind of weakness,” he added, saying that Venezuela’s “law will be respected.”
There was no immediate comment from the opposition, which had vowed to defend its votes. Opposition leaders planned to hold a news conference later in the day.
Within hours, a few thousand Venezuelans began taking to the streets near Caracas’ largest poor neighborhood to protest Maduro’s claim.
In the Petare neighborhood, people started walking shouting against Maduro, and some masked young people tore down campaign posters of him hung on lampposts. Heavily armed security forces were standing just a few blocks away from the protest, which was peaceful.
“It’s going to fall. It’s going to fall. This government is going fall!” some of the protesters shouted as they walked.
People on rooftops looked on, banging pots and waving Venezuelan flags as a show of support. Some protesters attempted to block freeways, including one that connects the capital with a port city where the country’s main international airport is.
Officials delayed the release of detailed vote tallies from Sunday’s election after proclaiming Maduro the winner with 51% of the vote, compared with 44% for retired diplomat Edmundo González. The competing claims set up a high-stakes standoff.
“Venezuelans and the entire world know what happened,” González said. But he and his allies asked supporters to remain calm and called on the government to avoid stoking conflict.
Several foreign governments, including the U.S. and the European Union, held off recognizing the election results.
After failing to oust Maduro during three rounds of demonstrations since 2014, the opposition put its faith in the ballot box. The elections were among the most peaceful in recent memory, reflecting hopes that Venezuela could avoid bloodshed and end 25 years of single-party rule.
The country sits atop the world’s largest oil reserves and once boasted Latin America’s most advanced economy. But after Maduro took the helm, it tumbled into a free fall marked by plummeting oil prices, widespread shortages of basic goods and hyperinflation of 130,000%.