Unrest in Venezuela after disputed election results

Opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez said on Monday that he and his campaign have evidence that he won a big victory over incumbent socialist leader Maduro and his regime, the Daily Mail reported. dadAccording to Gonzalez and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, the opposition should have won more than 70 percent of the vote in Sunday’s election, more than double what Maduro received. The right-wing opposition claims Maduro should have won 2.7 million votes and Gonzalez 6.2 million.

The statement came after the country's electoral commission, which is loyal to the Maduro regime, named Maduro as the winner and said he should have received 51 percent of the vote. That means Maduro will then begin his third six-year term.

The opposition urged He called on residents to remain calm and gather peacefully at 11 a.m. local time on Tuesday to celebrate the election results. Meanwhile, Maduro's campaign manager and top representative in parliament, Jorge Rodriguez, called on his supporters to demonstrate in the streets on Tuesday, according to the Spanish news agency EFE.

But shortly after the electoral commission’s statement on Monday, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets. The protests in the capital, Caracas, were initially calm, but when about a dozen police officers in riot gear tried to stop the protesters, they turned violent. Police used tear gas to disperse the crowd. Some threw rocks and other objects at police. Crowds chanted “Freedom, freedom” and demanded the regime step down, Reuters reported. BBC.

In some areas, the Maduros will do just that. Election posters were torn down and burned. Protesters also set fire to tires, cars and garbage in the streets.

So far, one person has been killed in the unrest, according to AFP.

Maduro himself has claimed the riots are a coup attempt of a “fascist and counter-revolutionary nature,” according to the Associated Press.

Several Western and Latin American countries have criticized the alleged election. Among other things, nine Latin American countries have called for an independent review of the election results. Venezuela responded by declaring diplomats from Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay persona non grata in the country. The United States, Great Britain, France, Spain and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have also called for greater transparency and the publication of vote tallies from each polling station.

The Venezuelan government also announced that commercial flights to and from Panama and the Dominican Republic will be suspended as of 20:00 local time on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, several countries have expressed their support for Maduro as president, such as Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Honduras, Russia and China.

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