Anger was boiling on the streets of Caracas, the capital, as limited demonstrations began before the results were even announced.
Reports from voting booths suggested uninformed men had been blocking access to citizens. In some cases, booths opened late or machines stopped working.
In the city of Sucre, an unofficial voting station was reportedly installed. In Cumana, 50 armed police officers and guards formed a line outside the booth in an apparent bid to discourage anyone voting against the government.
Venezuela was facing international condemnation as world leaders lined up to question the results. Cuba, however, congratulated Maduro for a “historic electoral triumph”.
Gabriel Boric, the leftist leader of Chile, said the results were “difficult to believe”, and demanded early on Monday that the conclusion to the election “fully reflect the popular will expressed at the polls”.
“The international community, of which our country, Chile, is a part, would not accept anything else,” he added on X.