Demonstrators in Venezuela have clashed with police as thousands descended onto the streets to protest the result of the South American country’s election.
The national electoral authority had proclaimed the incumbent President Nicolas Maduro the winner of the vote, handing him a third six-year term in office.
But opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez has said his campaign has the proof it needs to show he won the election.
Protesters threw Molotov cocktails at the police. Pics: Reuters
Mr Gonzalez and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado told supporters they had obtained more than 70% of the tally sheets from the disputed election, which they said shows Mr Gonzalez beat Mr Maduro.
“I speak to you with the calmness of the truth,” Mr Gonzalez said. “The will expressed yesterday through your vote will be respected… We have in our hands the tally sheets that demonstrate our victory.”
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez. Pic: Reuters
Angry protesters were seen on streets across Venezuela shortly after the National Electoral Council, which is loyal to Mr Maduro’s ruling party, officially declared Mr Maduro the winner with 51% of the vote compared with 44% for Mr Gonzalez.
A brawl broke out in the capital Caracas when dozens of police in riot gear blocked the protests and officers used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.
Some protesters threw stones and Molotov cocktails at the police.
Police throw a gas canister at protesters…
… and a protester throws one back
“It’s going to fall. It’s going to fall. This government is going to fall,” some protesters shouted.
A man fired a gun as the protesters moved through the capital’s financial district, but no one was wounded.
At least two people were killed in connection with the protests.
In the city of Coro protesters pulled down a statue depicting former president Hugo Chavez, who was Mr Maduro’s mentor.
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Pic: AP
Demonstrators bang pots during the protests. Pic: Reuters
‘Serious concerns’ over election results
“We have never been moved by hatred. On the contrary, we have always been victims of the powerful,” Mr Maduro said in a nationally televised ceremony.
“An attempt is being made to impose a coup d’etat in Venezuela again of a fascist and counterrevolutionary nature.”
“We already know this movie, and this time, there will be no kind of weakness,” he said, adding Venezuela’s “law will be respected”.
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‘Thanks for defending our democracy’
Several foreign governments have held off on recognising the election results.
Gabriel Boric, the left-wing leader of Chile, called the results “difficult to believe, while US secretary of state Antony Blinken said Washington had “serious concerns” the announced tally did not reflect the will of the people.
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‘Concerns’ over Venezuela poll results
Independent exit polls – not allowed under Venezuelan law – had shown Mr Gonzalez winning by a landslide.
Mr Gonzalez, a 74-year-old retired diplomat, was relatively unknown to voters before April, when he became a last-minute stand-in for Ms Machado, after she was blocked from running for any office for 15 years by the Maduro-controlled Supreme Tribunal of Justice.
