Nicolas Maduro Sworn in for Third Term as Venezuela’s President Amid Election Disputes | Read
Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro has been sworn in for a third term as president, six months after disputed elections that both the opposition and the international community claim he lost.
President Maduro took the oath of office before parliament on Friday, pledging that his third six-year term would be a “period of peace.”
The official results of July’s election have been widely rejected by the international community, including neighbouring countries Brazil and Colombia.
The 62-year-old’s inauguration took place one day after Venezuela’s opposition leader, María Corina Machado, was briefly arrested and later released after she addressed a protest rally.
Information Minister Freddy Nanez dismissed the reports of Machado’s detention as a “media distraction” after her team said she was “violently intercepted” in eastern Caracas.
In a speech during his inauguration, Maduro said: “I swear that this new presidential term will be one of peace, prosperity, equality and new democracy. I swear it by history, I swear it on my life. I will keep my word.”
Maduro was declared the winner of July’s presidential election by the official electoral commission. The opposition and many countries, including the US, had rejected the result and recognised opposition candidate Edmundo González as the legitimate president-elect.
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