Protests Across Venezuela as Election Dispute Continues

Opposition supporters rallied across Venezuela to protest Nicolas Maduro’s controversial victory in last month’s presidential election.

Opposition leader María Corina Machado joined thousands of protesters in the capital Caracas and urged them not to be afraid.

Ms. Machado, who had gone into hiding after being accused of insurrection, said there was nothing above the voice of the people and that the people had spoken.

Police and army were deployed in force as Maduro supporters held a demonstration.

“We will not abandon the streets,” Ms. Machado told protesters, many of whom waved copies of their polling stations’ election reports as proof of victory.

He had called for nationwide protests to increase pressure on Mr Maduro to give in.

Mr Maduro insisted he had won a third six-year term, but the opposition released tallies that it said showed its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, winning by a wide margin.

Speaking from an unidentified location, Mr Gonzalez said the time had come for an “orderly transition”.

The electoral commission, controlled by allies of Mr Maduro, declined to release detailed results but said he had won with 52% of the vote. Independent observers said there was a lack of transparency.

After the elections, anti-government protests erupted and hundreds of people were arrested by security forces, who remain loyal to President Maduro.

According to the Venezuelan government, more than 2,400 people have been arrested since July 29, the day the disputed election results were announced.

The UN has denounced the fact that street protests and criticism on social media have been met with “ferocious repression” by the state.

Similar demonstrations have taken place in cities across the world, from Australia to Spain, but also in the United Kingdom, Canada, Colombia, Mexico and Argentina.

The European Union, the United States and some Latin American countries refused to recognize the result.