Protests across Venezuela as election dispute rages on

Opposition supporters have rallied across Venezuela to protest Nicolas Maduro’s victory in last month’s presidential election.

Opposition leader María Corina Machado joined thousands of protesters in the capital, Caracas, urging them not to be afraid.

Ms. Machado, who was in hiding after being accused of sedition, said that there is nothing more important than the voice of the people, and that the people have spoken.

The police and the army have been deployed as Mr Maduro’s supporters have also held a protest.

“We will not leave the streets,” Ms. Machado told the protesters, many of whom held up copies of the election records at their polling stations as proof of victory.

He called for protests across the country to increase pressure for Mr. Maduro to concede.

Some protesters seem determined to continue.

“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 the AFP news agency.

“I hope Maduro will acknowledge his defeat and give up power peacefully,” medical student Jose Berbin told Reuters.

“What I think will happen is that the dictator’s regime will be difficult, we must all come together and resist the dictatorship and show that there are many good people.”

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

Speaking on condition of anonymity, Mr Gonzalez said it was time for “systematic change”.

At a rally of his rivals, Mr Maduro mocked Mr Gonzalez, saying he “lives in a cave”.

The electoral commission, controlled by friends of Mr Maduro, declined to release detailed results, but announced that he had won with 52% of the vote. Independent observers say it lacks transparency.

Since the election, anti-government protests have erupted and hundreds of people have been arrested by soldiers loyal to President Maduro.

According to the Venezuelan government, more than 2,400 people have been arrested since July 29, the day the disputed election results were announced.

The UN has criticized the fact that street protests and criticism on social media have been he encountered “strong repression” by the government.

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

The European Union, the United States and a number of Latin American countries refused to recognize the result.