Low turnout marked the municipal vote along with the abstention of opposition parties that refused to participate due to their lack of trust in the National Electoral Council (CNE). Chavism, the political force behind Maduro’s government, was expected to win the mayoral races in 335 of the country’s municipalities.
Despite the low turnout in Caracas, Chavistas appeared jubilant on election day and the president of the government-supporting Constituent National Assembly (ANC), Delcy Rodriguez, declared that the election was a sign of a “vigorous democracy” here.
A total of 19.7 million citizens were eligible to vote at 14,384 voting precincts around the country. Maduro called upon Venezuelans early Sunday morning to “vote for the future” in the municipal elections, claiming that Venezuela is the “world champion of freedom and democracy” for having held 24 elections since the socialist Bolivarian Revolution was installed under the late Hugo Chavez in 1999,Meanwhile, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said the elections are “a null event” called by the invalid ANC, organised by electoral authorities that are “fraudulent,” adding that Venezuela is a territory “under military occupation.”
