Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro claimed victory in a regional election on Sunday in a surprise win defying opinion polls, but the opposition refused to recognize the outcome, decrying fraud, in what could lead to another wave of sanctions against the regime and renewed unrest in the country sitting on the world’s biggest oil reserves. The pro-government electoral board said that Maduro’s allies and candidates had won 17 governorships, compared to the six governorships won by the opposition. The voter turnout was more than 61 percent. Maduro’s win was unexpected, as opinion polls before the vote had suggested that the opposition would easily win more than half of the state governorships. “Chavismo is alive in Venezuela”, Maduro said , hailing the socialist victory, while opposition leaders alleged fraud, demanding a full audit, and calling for street protests on Monday. “Neither Venezuelans nor the world will swallow this fiction,” Gerardo Blyde, […]