Fresh protests have erupted in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, following the contentious results of the presidential election.... CLICK TO READ THE FULL NEWS HERE▶▶
Thousands have gathered in the city center to express their opposition to President Nicolas Maduro’s declared victory. Many protesters have vowed to continue until a new government is established, with some stating that this can only be achieved if the security forces join the opposition.
So far, the military and police have remained loyal to Maduro, responding to some protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets. Local officials report around 750 arrests, while two leading NGOs in the country have reported several deaths and dozens of injuries.
On Tuesday, Venezuela’s defense minister described the protests as “a coup.” Surrounded by armed troops, Gen Vladimir Padrino read a statement affirming the “absolute loyalty and unconditional support” of the military for President Maduro.
Venezuela’s attorney general, a close ally of Maduro, stated that a soldier had been killed in the anti-government protests.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has called for peaceful protests. “We must proceed peacefully and not fall into the government’s provocations. They want to pit Venezuelans against each other,” she said. “Our candidate won 70% of the votes. We have united the country, and those who once believed in Maduro are now with us.”
An anti-government protester, who wished to remain anonymous due to fear of repercussions from the security forces, told the BBC they had seen evidence of electoral fraud.
“We are sure the election was stolen. I worked in an electoral booth. The government is not recognizing it, they stopped all the tallies of the vote halfway through the night. They don’t want the world to know that they lost,” they said.
They said that Venezuelans who had been supporters of previous leader Hugo Chavez, known as Chavistas, were now withdrawing their support from Mr Maduro.
“This is a very peaceful protest. This is an upper-class part of Caracas. What we saw yesterday was quite violent. I believe the people who used to be Chavistas are no longer Chavistas,” they said.
“I think people are hoping for a change. Most likely it will be violent.”
Protest erupted after the head of the National Electoral Council (CNE) – who is a member of Mr Maduro’s party and used to work as his legal adviser – declared the president re-elected for a third consecutive term.
The CNE had earlier announced that Mr Maduro had won with 51% of the votes, ahead of Edmundo González with 44%.
However, the electoral authority has so far failed to publish detailed voting tallies, which the opposition says show that the result the CNE announced was fraudulent.
The regional body for the Americas, the Organization of American States (OAS), has accused Venezuela’s government of completely distorting the results.
The opposition coalition backing Mr. González said they had been able to review 73.2% of the voting tallies and maintained that they confirmed that Mr. González was the winner by a wide margin.
“We have the records showing our categorical and mathematically irreversible victory,” Mr González said.
However, on Monday, the CNE doubled down, announcing that all votes had been counted and Mr Maduro was the winner.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Tarek Saab, a longtime ally of Mr. Maduro, warned that those arrested would be charged with “resisting authority and, in the most serious cases, terrorism”.
The opposition Voluntad Popular (Popular Will) party said among those who have been detained was their national political co-ordinator, Freddy Superlano.
The party warned that the government was stepping up its repression of activists who have been demanding the publication of results from polling stations.
Julio Derbis from Petare, one of the slums on the outskirts of the city, said: “We are going to fight, we hope with the pressure from the streets, we will overturn what the president is pretending, which is him sticking to power.
“The police are our neighbors, we live side by side, and they need to understand that they need to unite in the fight for all of our common good.”
Another protester, Karina Pinto, said these protests felt different to previous rounds of anti-government demonstrations.
“We have to get on the streets, it is the only way. We don’t support violence, but they are violent. We have to respond,” she said.
“The security forces need to get on our side, they are Venezuelans too. They can’t be against us, we are the people.”
In another section of the city, groups of President Maduro also gathered to show their support for him.
Nancy Ramones, one supporter of the president, said: “I’m not protesting anything, I’m supporting my government, the one who won. Nicolas Maduro. And I’m supporting him because he is the man that represents peace.”
“What the opposition say, they have not proved. If they say there is fraud, they have to prove it. And fraud hasn’t happened. They always have a hidden agenda.
“This is a coup that we are not going to allow, we are patriots. We are Venezuelans, we love peace.”
Milagros Arocha said: “Here the one who won was Nicolas Maduro, here are the people, representing Nicolas Maduro. We want peace.”
Opposition parties had united behind Mr González in an attempt to unseat President Maduro after 11 years in power, amid widespread discontent.
Almost 7.8 million people have fled the economic and political crisis that has rocked the country under the Maduro Administration.
The United Nations human rights chief has said he is deeply concerned about the increasing tension and violence in Venezuela. Volker Turk called on the authorities to respect the rights of all Venezuelans to assemble and protest peacefully.
