Here’s What to Know About Venezuela’s Flawed Election

President Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner in a presidential vote on Sunday that was marred by irregularities. Officials at some polling places refused to release paper tallies of the electronic vote count, and there were widespread reports of fraud and voter intimidation. Here are initial takeaways from Venezuela’s election.

Many fear a return to instability.

The government’s announcement that Mr. Maduro had beaten his opponent, Edmundo González, by seven percentage points instantly created a grim scenario for a country that only recently has started emerging from one of the largest economic collapses in modern history.

The results announced by the government-controlled electoral council varied wildly — by up to 30 percentage points — from most public polls and from the opposition’s sample of results obtained directly from voting centers. And there were many reports of major irregularities and problems at those voting centers.

The opposition leader María Corina Machado, who spearheaded Mr. González’s campaign, on Monday morning called the results “impossible.”

Some opposition supporters could take to the streets to protest the result. That could plunge Venezuela into a new period of political unrest, like those in 2014, 2017 and 2019, when security forces aligned with Mr. Maduro used deadly force to crush demonstrations.