Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado joined supporters protesting on the streets of Caracas against contested national election results, as demonstrators marched across the country.
Thousands of people rallied in the streets of Venezuela's capital on Saturday, waving the national flag and singing the national anthem in support of the opposition leader, who they believe won the presidential election by a landslide.
“Just as it took us a long time to achieve electoral victory, now comes a stage that we are taking day by day, but we have never been as strong as we are today, never,” Machado told his supporters in Caracas.
Venezuela's electoral body, criticized by critics for favoring the ruling party, declared President Nicolas Maduro the winner of Sunday's vote, saying Monday that he had obtained 51 percent of the vote, compared with 46 percent for opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez. The body reaffirmed a similar margin on Friday.
The published election result has sparked widespread accusations of fraud and protests.
On Saturday, supporters chanted and sang as Machado arrived at the rally in Caracas. Ecstatic, they crowded around her as she climbed onto a raised platform on a truck to address the crowd.
“I'm happy because I'm here with Maria Corina, supporting Venezuela to get out of this terrible injustice,” Yamilet Rondon, 42, told Reuters, waving a Venezuelan flag.
In addition to Caracas, protests took place in cities such as Valencia, Maracaibo and San Cristóbal.
“I came to this march with some fear, afraid of the repression we have seen, but it is our fight,” said 42-year-old preschool teacher Susana Martinez at a demonstration in Valencia in support of the opposition.
Meanwhile, Maduro urged his supporters to attend his own “mother of all marches” elsewhere in Caracas.
“We are here today responding to our president's call (…) to defend democracy,” Alfredo Valera, president of Venezuelan union Fontur, told state television. Valera took part in a pro-government caravan in Caracas.
Maduro's government has cracked down on opposition protests, calling them part of a US-backed coup attempt.
Security forces have arrested hundreds of opposition supporters who took to the streets in the days following the disputed election.
So far, at least 20 people have been killed in post-election protests, according to rights group Human Rights Watch.
The Organization of American States had previously called for calm.
“Today we urge that there be no more political prisoners, no more torture, no more disappearances, no more murders,” said the OAS, which this week described the election results as unreliable.
Nations including the United States and Argentina have already recognized Gonzalez as the winner of the election, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken citing “overwhelming evidence” on Thursday.
Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and Uruguay also concluded on Friday that González received the most votes.
Meanwhile, countries such as Russia, China and Cuba have congratulated Maduro.
