Protests Erupt over Disputed Election Results in Venezuela
World leaders and Venezuelans are questioning the legitimacy of the country's presidential election results, after President Nicolás Maduro was formally declared the winner.
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00:00Violence breaks out in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, as thousands take to the streets
00:11to protest the result of the country's presidential election.
00:16This, after the government-controlled electoral authority declared sitting president Nicolas
00:22Maduro the winner for another six-year term, with 51 per cent of the votes.
00:29To a cheering crowd, Maduro, who's been president since 2013, claimed victory.
00:34And I can say to the people of Venezuela and to the world, I am Nicolas Maduro Moro, President
00:44of the Republic of Bolivar of Venezuela, and I will defend our democracy, our law and our
00:53people.
00:55But it's the country's democracy that is in question, with the vote-facing accusations
01:01of fraud.
01:02World leaders and election observers are calling for a full breakdown of election result tallies
01:07from each of the country's 30,000 polling stations, while the opposition says the election
01:14result was marred by fraud.
01:17They also declared victory, saying their presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez gained 70 per cent
01:23of the vote.
01:24What happened on today's election day, here all the rules have been violated to the point
01:34that most of the bills have not yet been submitted.
01:40Our fight continues and we will not rest until the will of the people of Venezuela is respected.
01:49Gonzalez is planning to challenge the vote tally, saying he has proof he won.
01:55Independent polls predicted a landslide loss for the authoritarian Maduro, amid discontent
02:00among voters.
02:03Under his leadership, the country was plunged into an economic crisis that pushed 7.7 million
02:09people or a quarter of the population to flee the country in search of a better life.
02:16Voters who expected a different outcome are outraged and questioning the legitimacy of
02:21the vote.
02:22I'm going to fight for the democracy of my country, it was stolen from us.
02:26We have to fight for the democracy of our country.
02:30We have to keep fighting for our boys, for our youth, for our children.
02:38Riot police have fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters, but it's failed to
02:48subdue the demonstrations, which are growing by the hour, and has Venezuelans overseas
02:54joining in the call for transparency.
02:57More unrest is expected over the disputed election results, as these protesters demand
03:04their vote be respected.
03:06Dolphine Chen and Rosie Greninja for Taiwan Plus.