CARACAS (Dispatches) -- Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) awarded victory to the ruling Socialist party in 20 governorships and three to opposition politicians in an initial announcement on Monday following local and regional elections.
Shortly after the first results were published, President Nicolas Maduro celebrated the government’s triumph.
“The victory is impressive,” Maduro said, surrounded by supporters, adding that “good wins must be celebrated.”
The results are a setback for the opposition leaders who returned to the fray after boycotting presidential polls in 2018 and congressional elections in 2020, arguing that a fair vote was impossible due to rigging and intimidation by violent gangs loyal to Maduro.
This year, the opposition politicians decided to contest the elections as they were frustrated by the failure of U.S. sanctions to dislodge Maduro, as well as emboldened by the presence of election observers from the European Union.
In 2017’s regional elections the ruling party won 19 governorships, while opposition politicians took four.
The only mayoral result announced in the CNE’s first bulletin came from the capital Caracas - where the ruling party was also declared the victor.
Citizens cast their votes for over 3,000 state governors, mayors and city councils across the country, with 21 million Venezuelans registered to take part in the elections.
The poor performance by the opposition could hurt its ability to contest the presidential elections in 2024.
“This result is lamentable for the opposition,” Luis Vicente Leon, director of local consulting firm Datanalisis, said in a post on Twitter.
Opposition leader and former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, who led the opposition campaign, said via Twitter that an assessment will be made when all the results are in and did not give further details.
“The takeaway from these results is that we must rethink our strategy so far,” Tomas Guanipa, the opposition candidate for the mayor of Caracas, said.
“What is undeniable is that the vast majority of this country wants change, and that is why we have to fight.”
Maduro said on Sunday there will be no renewed talks with opposition politicians until “the kidnap” of a prominent government envoy Alex Saab - who was extradited to the United States - is answered for.
Venezuela’s government withdrew from

negotiations in Mexico, which started in August, following Saab’s extradition in October. Saab, a Colombian businessman, is accused by U.S. prosecutors in Miami of money laundering.
“There are still no conditions to restart (the dialogue),” Maduro told journalists after voting in regional elections on Sunday that saw opposition politicians returning to the fray after four years.
“They have to respond for this kidnapping,” he said.
Maduro’s allies say the charges against Saab amount to the United States waging an economic war against Venezuela.
The U.S.-backed opposition, which has urged Maduro to return to talks, has claimed that Saab enriched himself via commercial agreements with the government and did nothing to ease the suffering of Venezuelans. However, the results of the vote showed the Venezuelans think otherwise.
Saab pleaded not guilty to money laundering according to a court document filed on Nov. 15 at the District Court for the Southern District of Florida.