Venezuelan Authority Proclaims Maduro as President in Disputed Election

Venezuela’s electoral body has declared President Nicolás Maduro the winner of its national election, handing the socialist strongman another six-year term as the leader of a distraught country struggling to feed itself. Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, which is loyal to Mr. Maduro’s ruling party, announced on July 29 that Mr. Maduro had secured more than 51 percent of the vote with 80 percent of all votes tallied. The opposition candidate, Edmundo González, lost with 44.2 percent. Both Mr. Maduro and Mr. González have claimed victory. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado claimed that the latter won with 70 percent of the vote and declared him the president-elect, resulting in an election dispute that is prompting Venezuelans to take to the streets to voice their frustrations....