Venezuela's Maduro, opposition each claim presidential victory

Venezuela's opposition and President Nicolas Maduro's government were locked in a high-stakes standoff after each side claimed victory in Sunday's presidential vote, which millions in the long-suffering nation saw as their best shot to end 25 years of single-party rule.

Several foreign governments, including the U.S., held off recognizing the results as election officials delayed releasing detailed vote tallies after proclaiming Maduro the winner with 51 per cent of the vote, to 44 per cent for retired diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez.

"Venezuelans and the entire world know what happened," Gonzalez said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken from Tokyo said the U.S. has "serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people."

Gabriel Boric, the leftist leader of Chile, said: "The Maduro regime should understand that the results it published are difficult to believe."

Meanwhile, on the streets of Caracas, a mix of anger, tears and loud pot banging greeted the announcement of results by the Maduro-controlled National Electoral Council.

"This isn't possible," said Ayari Padron, wiping away tears. "This is a humiliation."

Voters lined up before dawn to cast ballots Sunday, boosting the opposition's hopes it was about to break Maduro's grip on power.

The official results came as a shock to opposition members who had celebrated, online and outside a few voting centres, what they believed was a landslide victory for Gonzalez.

"I'm so happy," said Merling Fernandez, a 31-year-old bank employee, as a representative for the opposition campaign walked out of one voting centre in a working class neighbourhood of Caracas to announce results showing Gonzalez more than doubled Maduro's vote count. Dozens standing nearby erupted in an impromptu rendition of the national anthem.

"This is the path toward a new Venezuela," added Fernandez, holding back tears. "We are all tired of this yoke."

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said the margin of Gonzalez's victory was "overwhelming," based on voting tallies the campaign received from representatives stationed at about 40 per cent of ballot boxes.

Authorities delayed releasing the results from each of the 30,000 polling booths nationwide, promising only to do so in the "coming hours," hampering attempts to verify the results.

Gonzalez was the unlikeliest of opposition standard bearers. A retired diplomat, the 74-year-old was unknown until he was tapped in April as a last-minute stand in for opposition powerhouse Machado, who was blocked by the Maduro-controlled supreme court from running for any office for 15 years.