CARACAS (Venezuela), Jan 10: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was sworn in Friday to a third term despite credible evidence that his opponent won the latest election and following protests in the South American country and abroad against his increasingly repressive rule.
Maduro took the oath of office before the ruling party-controlled National Assembly a day after the political opposition’s most prominent leader reported she had been briefly detained by state security forces. The government swiftly denied the accusation, but the claim again drew global attention to Venezuela’s protracted political crisis.
The crisis deepened when electoral authorities loyal to the ruling party declared Maduro the winner hours after polls closed on July 28. But unlike in previous presidential elections, they did not provide detailed vote counts.
The opposition, meanwhile, collected tally sheets from more than 80 per cent of electronic voting machines, posted them online and said the tallies show González won twice as many votes as Maduro. (AP)
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