Caracas: People refused to accept the controversial election results in Venezuela and took to the streets, with violent clashes between the public and the police in various parts of the capital.
Security forces used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters protesting the disputed election results.
Thousands of people flocked to central Caracas, some of whom had walked miles from slums on the mountains surrounding the city, to march toward the presidential palace.
A heavy police and army presence lined the streets of Caracas to disperse the protesters and prevent them from heading towards the presidential palace.
In some areas, protesters tore down and burned posters of President Maduro, while burning tires, cars and garbage.
The opposition dismissed Maduro’s victory declaration as fake and said their candidate, Edmundo González, won with 73.2 percent of the vote.
Opposition parties had rallied behind Mr Gonzalez in a bid to oust President Maduro after 11 years in power amid widespread discontent over the country’s economic crisis.
Argentina is the only country that has refused to recognize President Maduro’s election victory, and Venezuela has recalled diplomats from Buenos Aires in response.
Several Western and Latin American countries, as well as international organizations including the United Nations, have called on Venezuelan authorities to release voting records from individual polling stations.
