The elections in Venezuela

The election is over – six years of the same or huge shift?

The polling stations have closed after Sunday's fateful election in Venezuela. Millions of people cast their votes during an election day that generally passed peacefully, writes El País.

The premises closed at midnight, Swedish time, and the counting of votes has begun. It is still unclear when the country's electoral system will have a result to present.

The Venezuelans have had to choose between another six years with the socialist president Nicolás Maduro - or a huge change, AP writes. The election has been described as the biggest threat to socialist rule in 25 years.

On the other side are opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González. Machado, who is the poster name of the opposition but has been barred from the election, is a strong advocate of a smaller state and has shown his admiration for Margaret Thatcher.

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Hope for change: "This government will fall!"

When Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corína Machado left the polling station on Sunday, she was greeted by cheering supporters.

- This government will fall! chanted the crowd, according to the AP.

In a speech, Machado addressed the many Venezuelans who have left the country during Nicolás Maduro's eleven-year rule.

- The reunion is close, she said.

However, Maria Corína Machado has been stopped from standing in the election. Diplomat Edmundo González serves as her replacement – ​​and he leads in polls. But ahead of the election, there is concern that Nicolás Maduro will not relinquish power voluntarily, even if he were to lose.

The last polling station closes around midnight Swedish time.

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Scattered polling station polls spread online despite bans

In recent hours, several polling stations from Venezuela's presidential election have been shared on social media, despite the fact that it is prohibited under the country's electoral law. This is reported by El País.

The agency Hinterlaces shared a poll that claimed incumbent President Nicolás Maduro won by nearly 12 percentage points, 55 to 43, over challenger Edmundo González.

In response, another polling firm, Meganalisis, presented completely different data that pointed to a landslide victory for González: 65 percent to 13 for Maduro.

In addition, the politician Andrés Izarra, who was previously in the government but is now in the opposition, has presented figures that showed that González leads by 21 percentage points.

El País states that the measurements do not give any indication at all, but only show the political color of the sender. The polling stations close around midnight Swedish time.

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Blue Yellow Red Maduro promises to respect the election results

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro vowed to respect the election results when he cast his vote on Sunday. Wearing a jacket in the Venezuelan colors, he urged other presidential candidates to do the same, according to Brazilian O Globo.

There is great concern as to whether the election will be fair. The 2018 election was dismissed as unfree and this year there are only a few election observers on site, writes the BBC.

The socialist president is doing poorly in polls. The BBC describes today's election as the biggest threat to socialist rule in 25 years.

In surveys, the main opponent, the diplomat Edmundo González, has a clear lead. The opposition has had a strong election campaign and the queues are long at many polling stations, according to El País.

“Massive participation. Everyone should VOTE!” writes González on X.

The last polling stations close at midnight Swedish time.