Thousands protest Venezuelan leader's return to power after disputed vote

Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Venezuela on Monday to protest what they said was an attempt by President Nicols Maduro to steal the country's election a day after the political opposition and the entrenched incumbent both claimed victory.

Shortly after the National Electoral Council, which is loyal to Maduro's ruling party, announced that he had won a third six-year term, angry protesters began marching through the capital, Caracas, and cities across Venezuela.

In the capital, the protests were mostly peaceful, but when dozens of riot gear-clad national police officers blocked the caravan, a brawl broke out. Police used tear gas to disperse the protesters, some of whom threw stones and other objects at officers who had stationed themselves on a main avenue of an upper-class district.

"The protests are widespread, and they're spontaneous," saidRoberto Patio, a board member of the opposition Justice First party, who spoke to CBC Radio'sAs It Happens on Monday.

"It's the people coming out to reject a clear fraud that occurred last night."

The demonstrations followed an election that was among the most peaceful in recent memory, reflecting hopes that Venezuela could avoid bloodshed and end 25 years of single-party rule. The winner was to take control of an economy recovering from collapse and a population desperate for change.

"We have never been moved by hatred. On the contrary, we have always been victims of the powerful," Maduro said in the nationally televised ceremony. "An attempt is being made to impose a coup d'tat 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 added, saying that Venezuela's "law will be respected."

Later Monday,opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzlez said his campaign has proof to show he wonthe election.

WATCH | Venezuelans react to Maduro's return:

Venezuelans react to their country's election results, and the chaos that followed

1 month ago

Duration 1:15

Many citizens spoke of the sadness they are feeling a day after the country's opposition and entrenched incumbent Nicolas Maduro both claimed victory in the presidential election.

'It's going to fall'

In the impoverishedPetare neighbourhood of Caracas, people started walking and shouting against Maduro, and some masked young people tore down campaign posters of him that were hangingon lampposts. Heavily armed security forces were standing just a few blocks away from the protest.

"It's going to fall. It's going to fall. This government is going fall!" some of the protesters shouted as they walked.

As the crowd marched through a different neighbourhood, it was cheered on by retirees and office workers who banged on pots and recorded the protest in a show of support. There were some shouts of "freedom" and expletives directed at Maduro.

Elsewhere, some protesters attempted to block freeways, including one connecting the capital with a port city where the country's main international airport is.

Voters hadlined up as early as Saturday evening to cast ballots, boosting the opposition's hopes it was about to break Maduro's grip on power. The official results came as a shock to many who had celebrated, online and outside a few voting centres, what they believed was a landslide victory for Gonzlez.

Officials delayed the release of detailed vote tallies from Sunday's election after proclaiming Maduro the winner with 51 per centof the vote, comparedwith44 per centforGonzlez, a retired diplomat.The competing claims set up a high-stakes standoff.

Criticism outside Venezuela

Several foreign governments, including the U.S. and the European Union, held off recognizing the election results.

In Toronto, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freelandsaid Canada has "serious concerns" about the official election results in Venezuela.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking from Tokyo, said the U.S. has "serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people."

The White House separately said on Monday that it wants Venezuelan officials to publish a full detailed tabulation of votes.

WATCH | Violent clashes follow Venezuela presidential election:

Maduro declared president in disputed Venezuela election

1 month ago

Duration 1:56

Venezuela's incumbent leader, Nicols Maduro, was declared the winner in a disputed presidential election that the opposition says was stolen from them.

The Biden administration also said on Monday that electoral manipulation had stripped theannouncement of Maduro's re-electionvictory of "any credibility," and Washington left the door opento fresh sanctions on the OPEC nation.

After failing to oust Maduro during three rounds of demonstrations since 2014, the opposition put its faith in the ballot box.

The country sits atop the world's largest oil reserves and once boasted Latin America's most advanced economy. But after Maduro took the helm, it tumbled into a free fall marked by plummeting oil prices, widespread shortages of basic goods and hyperinflation.

U.S. oil sanctions sought to force Maduro from power after his 2018 reelection, which dozens of countries condemned as illegitimate. But the sanctions only accelerated the exodus of some 7.7 million Venezuelans who have fled their crisis-stricken nation.

Gabriel Boric, the leftist leader of Chile, said: "The Maduro regime should understand that the results it published are difficult to believe."

MexicanPresident Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador said ata newsconference on Monday that he would wait until all of the results were reported before recognizing a winner.

Argentine President Javier Mileisaid that "not even" Maduro himself "believes the electoral scam he is celebrating. Neither does the Argentine Republic."

Panama's PresidentJos Ral Mulinosaid his country is "putting diplomatic relations on hold" pending a review of the voting records and of thevoting computer system.

In response to criticism from other governments, Maduro'sForeign Affairs Ministry announced it would recall its diplomatic personnel from seven countries in the Americas, including Panama, Argentina and Chile. Foreign Minister Yvan Gil asked the governments of those countries to do the same with their personnel in Venezuela.

He did not explain what would happen to the staff members of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, including her campaign manager, who have sheltered for months in the Argentinian embassy in Caracas after authorities issued arrest warrants against them.