July 29 (Reuters) – Leaders in the Americas and beyond reacted to Venezuela's electoral authority's announcement just after midnight on Monday that President Nicolas Maduro had won a third term, despite multiple exit polls pointing to an opposition victory.

“We have only recently seen the announcement of the Venezuelan Electoral Commission. We are deeply concerned that the announced results do not reflect the will or the voices of the Venezuelan people.”

“Maduro’s regime must understand that the results are hard to believe. The international community and especially the Venezuelan people, including the millions of Venezuelans in exile, demand total transparency… From Chile, we will not recognize any result that is not verifiable.”

“The people of Venezuela voted peacefully and in large numbers on the future of their country. Their will must be respected. It is vital to ensure full transparency in the electoral process, including detailed vote counting and access to voting data at polling stations.”