The Venezuelan opposition had expected to win Sunday's regional elections. But after the ruling Socialists Party's shock victory, the US has denounced the vote as illegitimate.
"We condemn the lack of free and fair elections yesterday in Venezuela. The voice of the Venezuelan people was not heard," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.
Candidates from Maduro's ruling Socialist party won 17 out of 23 state governorships in Sunday's election, while candidates from the opposition Democratic Union Roundtable (MUD) coalition took only five states. One state was still undecided.
Opinion polls prior to the election had predicted that the opposition would win back control of majority of the state governorships.
Venezuelans will vote in gubernatorial elections on Sunday amid what the IMF has described as a "full-blown economic, humanitarian and political crisis with no end in sight." These are the key issues ahead of the vote.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M.Gutierrez
The election
Venezuelans will vote for governors in all 23 states on Sunday. The election had been slated for December, but the government-friendly electoral commission, CNE, delayed the vote after predicted losses for the ruling Socialist Party. The party has traditionally dominated state governor's offices, but recent polls have projected that the Venezuelan opposition will win a majority of governorships.
Image: Reuters/C. Garcia Rawlins
The challenge
Scrutiny of the vote's transparency is set to be intense. An election software company said authorities had tampered with the final turnout count after Venezuela's last election in July. The CNC has recently moved 203 polling stations from areas with strong opposition support. It said security-related considerations were behind the decision.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/F. Parra
The president
Nicolas Maduro replaced former President Hugo Chavez following Chavez's death in April 2013. Maduro's authoritarian reign has seen the rapid decline of the economy and a huge drop in support for the president's government. Maduro recently set up a new constituent assembly after his Socialist Party lost control of the country's parliament in 2015. The move led the US to label him a "dictator."
Image: picture alliance/dpa/P. Miraflores
The opposition
The Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) is the main opposition group in Venezuela. It was launched in 2009 and is made up of about 20 parties from across the political spectrum that oppose President Maduro. Key leaders include Henrique Capriles, Leopoldo Lopez, and Maria Corina Machada (pictured). MUD demands include restoring power to the parliament and releasing hundreds of political prisoners.
Image: picture-alliance/C.Becerra
The economic crisis
The Venezuelan economy has collapsed since 2014. Real GDP will have contracted by 35 percent in 2017 compared to the end of 2014 according to the IMF, and the fund predicts inflation to exceed 1,000 percent by the end of the year. Stacks of cash are needed to buy bare necessities. The crisis has also caused widespread food shortages and led many to flee Venezuela to neighboring countries.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Barreto
The political crisis
The economic crisis has undermined Maduro's popularity and helped fuel a political crisis. Security forces have repeatedly clashed with demonstrators calling for the president's removal. Despite losing the street and power in the parliament, Maduro's position is still relatively secure. He has the support of the military, the Supreme Court, and the newly created constituent assembly.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/R. Schemidt
The curse
Venezuela possesses the world's largest oil reserves, and for many years, the country benefited from selling its black gold. But a 50-percent collapse in oil prices in 2014 devastated the oil-dependent economy with government petroleum revenues dropping from $80 billion in 2013 to $20 billion in 2016, according to the IMF.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Sanchez
The future
A big win for MUD candidates on Sunday may not spell disaster for Maduro's government. The powerful Maduro-controlled constituent assembly could try to undermine MUD governors. State legislative assemblies controlled by the Socialist Party could also frustrate MUD governors. Once the dust settles on Sunday, Venezuelan's are set to vote for the presidency in April 2018.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M.Gutierrez
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Nauert said the election's lack of transparency and government manipulation made the results illegitimate.
"Our previously stated concerns were unfortunately realized: lack of independent, credible international observers; lack of technical audit for the National Electoral Council's (CNE) tabulation; last minute changes to polling station locations without public notice; manipulation of ballot layouts; and limited availability of voting machines in opposition neighborhoods," she said.
Washington, she said, would continue using its economic and diplomatic power to help Venezuelans "restore their democracy" for "as long as the Maduro regime conducts itself as an authoritarian dictatorship."
Heather Nauert said the US would continue to pressure Venezuela after Sunday's voteImage: picture alliance/AA/Y. Ozturk
US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley also criticized the election, saying on Monday that President Maduro had used "voter intimidation, manipulation, and obstruction" to ensure a favorable result and that an "audit of the electoral process" was needed.
The vote was the first involving the MUD since 2015 when the opposition coalition won a majority of seats in the country's parliament, the National Assembly.
Maduro however created an all-powerful constituent assembly in July that has been staffed with government loyalists and is tasked with rewriting the constitution.
Venezuela has been in a four-year political and economic crisis that has left millions facing shortages of basic goods, such as food and medicine.
