Saga continues
Maduro has been powered to another six-year mandate, giving him a stranglehold on the presidency until 2025.
“We won again! We triumphed again! We are the force of history turned into a permanent popular victory!” he cried out to a crowd of supporters, claiming he won a record victory.
Maduro's nearest challenger, Henri Falcon, took just over 22 percent of the vote -- and said he did not accept final results.
Maduro's first term in office was turbulent: the economic crisis, rising poverty and crime, violent street protests, international sanctions, and millions fleeing their country.
Maduro's critics accuse him -first elected by a razor-thin margin in 2013 -- of mismanaging economy and becoming an all-powerful “dictator.”
Chavez, who led Venezuela from 1999 until 2013 considered Maduro “a pure and hard revolutionary.” But some former Chavez supporters are skeptical.
Maduro often appears with his wife Cilia Flores. He is also the father of “Nicolasito,” a 27 year-old Constituent Assembly lawmaker.
In a sign of his changing image, president's campaign slogan this year was “Everyone with Maduro, loyalty and the future.”
Five years ago I was a novice,” he said recently. “Now I am a standup Maduro, who has confronted the oligarchy.”