Venezuela election: Army fires tear gas at protesters

Caracas, July 29 (EFE).- Dozens of Venezuelan soldiers fired tear gas bombs this Monday against citizens who went to protest in Caracas to reject the result of the presidential election provided by the National Electoral Council (CNE). President Nicolás Maduro obtained 51.2% of the vote, a figure questioned by the opposition and most of the international community.

After marching about 10 kilometers east of the Venezuelan capital, thousands of protesters arrived at a point near a main highway where members of the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB, militarized police) and the Bolivarian National Police (PNB) blocked their further march.

EFE confirmed that, at the scene, uniformed officers fired tear gas and pellets at the protesters and detained about twenty of them, while protests and mobilizations continued in different parts of Caracas.

Conflict

Protesters, who had continued peaceful actions until being attacked by security forces, have been affected by the gases released, while local media showed some people injured by pellets.

The actions by uniformed officers did not deter protesters, whose numbers continued to grow after 5:00 pm local time (9:00 pm GMT).

Several protesters tore down Maduro’s campaign posters and tied them to motorcycles and dragged them along the ground, where their companions loudly banged utensils as a sign of protest.
Through social networks, several reports have circulated of similar protests in different regions of the oil-producing country.

Chavista opposition leader María Corina Machado said this Monday that the “newly elected president” of Venezuela is Edmundo González Urrutia, the standard-bearer of the main opposition coalition, despite the results announced by the electoral body, which insisted today that Maduro obtained the majority of valid votes in the presidential election.

The drivers staged a protest

Hundreds of motorcyclists protested in Caracas on Monday after the National Electoral Council (CNE) declared Nicolas Maduro re-elected president of Venezuela following elections held on July 28.

EFE confirmed that hundreds of motorcyclists circulated along one of the main avenues of the Venezuelan capital, towards the west of the city, where the headquarters of public powers are located, including the presidential palace of Miraflores.

Hours earlier, the electoral body officially declared Maduro president, announcing on Sunday night that the Chavista in power since 2013 won the election with 51.2% of the vote – the same result that was provided in the minutes when 80% of the votes had been counted and more than two million votes remained to be counted – a result rejected by the majority opposition and a large part of the international community.

Meanwhile, Edmundo González Urrutia, the standard-bearer of the majority opposition, received 44.2% of the vote, according to the CNE’s first and only public report, which did not specify which candidate received 2,394,268 votes that were not reported.

against maduro

Several protesters tore down Maduro’s campaign posters and tied them to motorcycles and dragged them along the ground, where their companions loudly banged utensils as a sign of protest.

After the first group of motorists, drivers continued to pass through the avenue, with hundreds of other citizens also traveling on the road, some of them with Venezuela’s tricolor flag and most coming from Petare, the largest favela in the Caribbean country, traditionally Chavista.

Citizens chanted slogans such as “You see it, you feel it, Edmundo President”, “And it’s going to fall, and it’s going to fall, this government is going to fall” and “Maduro we don’t want you”, among others.

Chavista opposition leader María Corina Machado said this Monday that the “newly elected president” of Venezuela is González Urrutia, despite the results announced by the electoral body, who today stressed that Maduro obtained a majority of valid votes in the presidential elections “, consequently being elected for a term of six more years until 2031”.

NGOs, opposition parties, citizens and local media report numerous protests on social networks in other areas of Caracas and regions of the country.