Victory for the president has dashed the hopes of those demanding reform in Venezuela, but, with the whole machinery of government on his side, a third term for Mr Maduro was the most likely outcome of the disputed election.
Venezuelan friends and colleagues, many of whom have worked with me for over a decade covering the South American country, had been increasingly optimistic that a change in government was coming. Over the past months, I have woken up to excited messages and phone calls from them - they were convinced that change would come this time.
But Mr Maduro is not Mr Chavez. More importantly, though, Mr Maduro and his presidency represent 'the system', in other words, a centralised, socialist government. And every major government institution - including the police, the intelligence services, the military, the judiciary and, some might argue, even the electoral commission - are interlinked. It's not in any of their interests to simply hand over power, and in many ways, it would have to be taken from them.
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