Maduro's win sparks violent protests across Venezuela

Protests erupted across Venezuela, with police deploying tear gas in the capital, Caracas, as the opposition claimed to have proof that they won a weekend election that was declared in favour of the long-standing socialist President Nicolas Maduro.

Demonstrations began after the election board, criticised for its alleged subservience to a dictatorial government, announced on Monday that Maduro had secured a third term with 51% of the vote. This extends his "Chavista" movement's rule to a quarter-century.

However, the opposition stated that the 73% of vote tallies they accessed indicated their candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, had won by a significant margin, receiving more than twice the votes of Maduro.

In response, many Venezuelans participated in "cacerolazos", a traditional Latin American protest where people bang pots and pans in anger. Others blocked roads, set fires, and threw petrol bombs at police, with protests spreading nationwide, including near the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas.

"We are tired of this government, we want a change. We want to be free in Venezuela. We want our families to return here," said one masked protester, referring to the exodus of about a third of Venezuelans in recent years.

Police equipped with shields and batons fired tear gas to disperse some protests in Caracas and the city of Maracay. Many demonstrators rode motorbikes, jammed streets, or draped themselves in the Venezuelan flag, some covering their faces with scarves to protect against tear gas. The government labelled them as violent agitators.

"I'll fight for my country's democracy. They stole the election from us," said another unidentified protester.

In Coro, the capital of Falcon state, protesters celebrated and danced after tearing down a statue of the late president Hugo Chavez, Maduro's mentor who ruled from 1999 to 2013.

A local monitoring group, the Venezuelan Conflict Observatory, reported 187 protests in 20 states as of 6pm on Monday, with numerous acts of repression and violence carried out by paramilitary groups and security forces.

In a live broadcast from the presidential palace, Maduro claimed his forces were maintaining peace. The armed forces have long supported him, and there were no signs of a break from the government.

"We have been following all of the acts of violence promoted by the extreme right," Maduro said. "We've seen this movie before."

Deaths and international reactions

At least two people were killed in connection with the vote count or protests, one in the border state of Tachira and another in Maracay.

Maduro, a 61-year-old former union leader and foreign minister, initially won election after Chavez's death in 2013 and was re-elected in 2018. The opposition claimed both elections were rigged. His tenure has been marked by economic collapse, mass migration, and deteriorating relations with the West, including US and EU sanctions that have crippled Venezuela's struggling oil industry.

Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino warned against a repeat of the "terrible situations of 2014, 2017, and 2019" when waves of anti-government protests led to hundreds of deaths without dislodging Maduro.

Independent pollsters have called Maduro's declared victory implausible. Governments in Washington and elsewhere questioned the results and urged a full vote count.

"Not even (Maduro) believes the electoral scam he is celebrating," said Argentina's President Javier Milei. In response, Peru ordered Venezuelan diplomats to leave within 72 hours, citing "serious and arbitrary decisions made today by the Venezuelan regime."

Political allies, including Russia and Cuba, backed Maduro. President Vladimir Putin stated that Maduro would always be welcome in Russia, while Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel congratulated him for having "cleanly and unequivocally defeated the pro-imperialist opposition."

The Organisation of American States announced a meeting on Wednesday in Washington to discuss the Venezuelan election.

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was barred from running in the poll but has spearheaded the campaign for Gonzalez, called for marches on Tuesday.

"My dear Venezuelans, tomorrow we meet; as a family, organized, demonstrating the determination we have to make every vote count and defend the truth," she said.

The government is also planning pro-Maduro rallies.