Rio de Janeiro, 29 July 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Venezuela's opposition has claimed it has won the country's presidential elections, despite the country's Electoral Council (CNE) announcing incumbent Nicolás Maduro had been re-elected.

The CNE said early on Monday Maduro had won a third term in office with about 51% of the vote, beating opposition candidate Edmundo González, who secured about 44%.

However, opposition leader María Corina Machado claimed the opposition had secured 70% of the vote.

"We won and the whole world knows that," she told journalists.

González was nominated as a replacement candidate for Machado, who has been banned from office.

Ahead of the vote, few observers inside or outside Venezuela expected a free and fair election.

In the run-up to election day, numerous members of the opposition were detained and candidates critical of the government were not allowed to run.

A total of around 21.6 million people were eligible to vote, including those abroad.