Venezuela’s ruling party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), has claimed a crushing victory in elections for state governors and for the country’s legislature.
It won 23 out of 24 state governorships and over 80% of votes cast in legislative elections.
However, the elections were boycotted by the vast majority of opposition parties, with prominent opposition leader Maria Corina Machado claiming that the turnout was below 15%.
The Venezuelan election commission claimed that turnout was over 40%.
Prior to the elections, a number of people had been arrested. According to the BBC, over 70 people with links to the opposition were arrested, with the authorities claiming they were planning to “sabotage” the election.