Protests erupt in Venezuela after disputed election

Unrest and street clashes broke out across Venezuela, after the electoral authority announced that Nicolas Maduro had been re-elected for another six-year term as president.

Maduro will be serving a third consecutive six-year term, having first taken office in 2013 following the death of President Hugo Chavez.

The National Electoral Council, announced that with 80% of ballots counted, Maduro had secured more than 51% of the vote, compared to 44% for his main rival, Edmundo Gonzales.

The opposition says the vote was marred by fraud, insisting its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez won the ballot. Some opinion polls ahead of the election showed a clear majority for the challenger.

Large numbers of riot police and soldiers were deployed in Caracas to disperse protesters and prevent them from approaching the presidential palace. Crowds of people were seen chanting “freedom!” and calling for the government to fall. Footage showed posters of President Maduro ripped down, while tires, cars and trash were set alight. In a televised address from Caracas, Maduro accused the opposition of attempting “to impose a coup d’etat in Venezuela”. Opposition leaders rejected Maduro’s allegations, and called for peaceful protests across the country.

As Maduro spoke, demonstrators reportedly tried to block highways, including one that connects the capital with Simon Bolivar International Airport. A number of countries, as well as international bodies including the UN, have called on the Venezuelan authorities to release voting records from individual polling stations.

Argentina has refused to recognize Maduro’s victory. In response Venezuela has recalled diplomats from Buenos Aires.

Diplomats from six other Latin American countries – Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay – have also been withdrawn in response to the international outcry.

Nine Latin American countries have called for an emergency meeting of the Organization of American States permanent council due to concerns over the election results.