Venezuelan opposition urges more protests as post-election tensions simmer
Al Jazeera
Opposition leader calls for Saturday protests as pressure grows for Venezuelan authorities to release full vote tallies.
The political opposition in Venezuela has called for more mass demonstrations as anger continues to boil over President Nicolas Maduro’s disputed election victory.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado urged Venezuelans to take to the streets on Saturday in protest of Maduro’s re-election, which has thrust the South American nation into a political crisis and drawn international criticism.
“We must remain firm, organised and mobilised with the pride of having achieved a historic victory on July 28, and the awareness that to claim victory we will also go all the way,” Machado said on social media.
Earlier this week, Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) formally declared Maduro the winner of Sunday’s presidential vote.
The CNE said Maduro had secured 51 percent support to win another six-year term, compared with 44 percent for his main challenger Edmundo Gonzalez.
