Protests across Venezuela as election dispute continues

Opposition supporters have gathered across Venezuela to protest against Nicolas Maduro’s disputed 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 been in hiding after being accused of insurrection, said there was nothing above the voice of the people, and that the people had spoken.

Police and the army were deployed in force as supporters of Mr Maduro also held a demonstration.

“We won’t leave the streets,” Ms Machado told protesters, with many of them waving copies of election records from their voting stations as proof of victory.

She had called for nationwide protests to intensify pressure on Mr Maduro to concede.

Some demonstrators seemed determined to carry on.

“This is a criminal government that wants to hold on to power. I smell freedom, I have nothing to fear,” said Adriana Calzadilla, quoted by AFP news agency.

“I hope for Maduro to recognise his defeat and hand over the power peacefully,” medical student Jose Berbin told Reuters.

“What I think will happen is that the dictatorship will get harder, we all need to unite against the dictatorship and show that good people are more.”

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

Speaking from an unidentified location, Mr Gonzalez said it was time for an “orderly transition”.

At his rival rally, Mr Maduro mocked Mr Gonzalez, saying he was “living in a cave”.

The electoral commission, controlled by allies of Mr Maduro, has refused to release detailed results, but declared he won with 52% of the vote. Independent observers said it lacked transparency.

Since the election, anti-government protests have flared up and hundreds of people have been arrested by the security forces, which remain loyal to President Maduro.

According to the Venezuelan government, more than 2,400 people have been detained since 29 July, the day the disputed election result was announced.

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

Similar demonstrations have been held in cities around the world, from Australia to Spain and also in the United Kingdom, Canada, Colombia, Mexico and Argentina.

The European Union, the United States and a number of Latin American nations have refused to recognise the result.