Venezuela's ruling party claims 20 of 23 governorships in regional, local polls

By Sinan Dogan

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - Venezuela's ruling party won 20 of the country's 23 governorships in regional and local elections, according to preliminary results released by the electoral authority on Monday.

The National Electoral Council (CNE) announced that the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), the Latin American country's ruling party since 2010, won 20 governorships, including the capital Caracas, according to initial results, with 90% of the ballots counted.

Opposition parties, on the other hand, won elections in three states, including Zulia, one of the country’s most populous states, in the polls they participated in after a boycott of presidential polls in 2018 and congressional elections in 2020.

Isabel Santos, the head of the EU election observer mission, said in a statement that the regional and municipal elections in Venezuela were held “calmly.”

Meanwhile, the turnout of the registered voters in the election was 41.8%.

Initially, more than 20 million people were eligible to vote in 23 governorship and 335 mayorship contests in a country with a population of over 28.4 million.

- 'Respect for results'

Following the CNE announcement, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro spoke at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas to thank the South American nation for its election support.

"My call to all winners and non-winners... respect for results, political dialogue, national reunification," he said.

"Good victory, a good result is the product of hard work. Thank you, Venezuela," he added.

A delegation of 34 people consisting of representatives of the EU election observation mission, as well as observers from various countries, including Turkey, monitored the election.

Serkan Bayram, a Turkish lawmaker, who is also the chairman of the Turkey-Venezuela interparliamentary friendship group, and his accompanying delegation were also present in Venezuela.

*Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev from Ankara