CARACAS: The Carter Center said a technical mission it sent to Venezuela was unable to verify the results of the country's presidential election and blamed officials for a “complete lack of transparency” in declaring the incumbent, Nicolas Maduro,the winner.

The Atlanta-based group in a statement said that the election “did not meet international standards of electoral integrity and cannot be considered democratic.”

The Carter Center's deployed 17 experts and observers to Venezuela starting on June 29, with teams based in four cities.