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Maduro re-elected for second term In Venezuela amid complaints of voting irregularities
Nicolás Maduro has been re-elected to a second six-year term in office as President of crisis-ridden Venezuela.
The successor to Manuel Chavez garnered 5,823,726 of the ballots in the country's general election on Sunday.
However, the results were marred by the lowest voter turnout in the country's history, with less than half the population having taken part (46.1%), and by multiple allegations of electoral fraud, including by various foreign governments.
Opposition leader Henri Falcón announced his party harboured serious reservations about the legitimacy of the results and requested new elections, pointing to multiple irregularities.
The election "without any doubt lacks legitimacy and we categorically refuse to recognise this process," Falcón told supporters minutes before the results were announced.
Among the irregularities reported were red tents near polling stations urging poor Venezuelans to scan their state-issued "fatherland cards" to win a "prize" as promised by Maduro, including boxes containing food rations and money vouchers.
Maduro addressed a festive crowd of supporters after the results were announced, saying: "We will be the most powerful and largest political force in Venezuela for a long time. It doesn't faze me when they say I'm a dictator."
The US government declared the Sunday vote a "sham", threatening sanctions against Venezuela's oil sector, which is already mired deep in its own problems, including from alleged corruption, mismanagement and a lack of appropriate funding.
Other countries, including Chile and neighbouring Panama also refused to recognise the results as legitimate, complaining that the vote had not met the minimum standards expected of a true democracy.
Despite the electoral result, which would likely prolong the dire situation in the country, as of 1545 BST front month Brent crude oil futures were higher by just 0.064% to $78.56 a barrel on the ICE.