Protests erupt in Venezuela over alleged Maduro election fraud

CARACAS,— Protests erupted across Venezuela as opposition leaders claimed they had conclusive proof of election fraud in the recent presidential vote, which saw socialist President Nicolas Maduro declared the winner. Demonstrations intensified in the capital, Caracas, where police responded with tear gas.

The controversy began when the election board, which critics argue is controlled by Maduro’s government, announced on Monday that he had secured a third term with 51% of the vote. This result extends the socialist “Chavista” movement’s 25-year hold on power. However, the opposition contended that their candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, had won decisively, with access to 73% of the vote tallies showing he received more than double the votes cast for Maduro.

In response, Venezuelans took to the streets in a traditional “cacerolazo” protest, banging pots and pans in defiance. Roads were blocked, fires were lit, and petrol bombs were thrown at police, as unrest spread nationwide, including near the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas.

“We are exhausted by this government and demand change. We want freedom in Venezuela and for our families to return,” said a masked protester, alluding to the mass emigration that has seen a third of Venezuelans leave the country in recent years.

Law enforcement, equipped with shields and batons, deployed tear gas to disperse protests in Caracas and Maracay. Demonstrators, many on motorbikes, clogged the streets, waving the Venezuelan flag and covering their faces to shield against tear gas.

The government labeled the demonstrators as violent agitators. “I will fight for my country’s democracy. This election was stolen from us,” declared another protester.

In Coro, the capital of Falcon state, protestors celebrated as they dismantled a statue of the late president Hugo Chavez, Maduro’s mentor who led the country from 1999 until his death in 2013.

The Venezuelan Conflict Observatory, a local monitoring group, reported 187 protests across 20 states by 6 p.m. on Monday, noting numerous incidents of violence and repression by paramilitary groups and security forces.

In a live broadcast from the presidential palace, Maduro asserted that his forces were maintaining order. The armed forces, which have historically backed Maduro, showed no signs of defection. “We are monitoring all acts of violence incited by the extreme right,” Maduro stated. “We’ve seen this scenario before.”

The unrest has resulted in at least two deaths linked to the vote count and subsequent protests, one in Tachira and another in Maracay.

Maduro, a 61-year-old former union leader and foreign minister, first won the presidency in 2013 following Chavez’s death and was re-elected in 2018. The opposition has consistently alleged electoral fraud in both elections. Maduro’s tenure has seen economic collapse, mass migration, and deteriorating relations with the West, exacerbated by U.S. and EU sanctions that have further crippled the struggling oil industry.

Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino warned against allowing a repeat of the violent protests seen in 2014, 2017, and 2019, which resulted in hundreds of deaths but failed to unseat Maduro.

Independent pollsters have questioned the credibility of Maduro’s victory, while international governments, including Washington, have called for a thorough vote count. “Not even Maduro believes in the electoral sham he is celebrating,” remarked Argentina’s President Javier Milei.

In response to the election results, Peru expelled Venezuelan diplomats, citing the “serious and arbitrary decisions” made by the Venezuelan regime. Conversely, Maduro received backing from political allies such as Russia and Cuba. Russian President Vladimir Putin extended an open invitation to Maduro, and Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel congratulated him for “cleanly and unequivocally defeating the pro-imperialist opposition.”

The Organization of American States announced a meeting in Washington on Wednesday to address the situation in Venezuela. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, barred from running in the election but a leading figure in Gonzalez’s campaign, called for continued demonstrations.

“My dear Venezuelans, tomorrow we gather as a family, organized and determined to ensure every vote is counted and the truth is upheld,” she declared.

Pro-Maduro rallies are also being planned by the government.

(With files from Reuters)