Lilian Tintori, renowned human-rights activist and wife of imprisoned political leader Leopoldo López, released a video on social media on Sunday evening stating that the Venezuelan opposition has won today’s congressional election.
“We won. We won by a lot. We won well,” she said. “This is a difficult moment because we know that we won, but we don’t know what the government will do. They have to recognize (our victory) and they obviously don’t want to.”
Without revealing the source of her information, Tintori added that the anti-regime Democratic Unity Roundtable coalition (MUD) had gained more than 100 seats in Venezuela’s 167-member National Assembly.
For his part, Miranda state governor Henrique Capriles, a two-time presidential candidate for the opposition, challenged President Nicolás Maduro to recognize the government’s defeat.
“Admit the results,” he wrote on Twitter. “The Venezuelan people have spoken and our people’s voice is sacred. A new National Assembly has been elected!”
. @NicolasMaduro asume el resultado!El Pueblo venezolano habló y la voz de ntro Pueblo es sagrada!Se ha elegido una nueva AN!
— Henrique Capriles R. (@hcapriles) December 7, 2015
Like Tintori, Capriles didn’t disclose the source that made him certain of the opposition’s victory.
At 11 p.m., Caracas time, National Electoral Council president Tibisay Lucena had still not announced the elections’ official results. Officially, voting centers had to close at 6 p.m., but opposition figures denounced delays that would allow Chavistas supporters to reach voting booths.