At least one person died in protests against the election result in Venezuela, the non-governmental organization Foro Penal said on social media platform X on Monday evening, with more protests planned for Tuesday.
At least 46 people were arrested in various cities and states of the South American country, Foro Penal wrote.
The reported death occurred in the northern state of Yaracuy, although further details were initially unknown. Local media reported at least two deaths.
Nationwide, protests following the controversial election that handed another term to authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro led to at times violent clashes between demonstrators and security forces.
Television footage showed police using tear gas and occasionally striking people. Shots were also fired at demonstrators who were marching to the presidential palace in the capital Caracas, the newspaper El Nacional reported and video clips showed.
The shooters could be so-called Colectivos (Collectives), pro-government paramilitary groups that enforce the government’s agenda through violence. The video shows police not intervening to prevent the attack on the demonstrators.
The opposition called for a large demonstration against the government for Tuesday. The government camp also plans to bring its supporters to the streets.
The National Electoral Council officially declared Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, the winner of the presidential election with 51.2% of the votes in Sunday’s election, while opposition candidate Edmundo González received 44.2%. The opposition does not recognize the official result and claims election fraud.
Opposition leader María Corina Machado said to media representatives on Monday that the government opponents had access to 73% of the result lists, which indicated an insurmountable lead for the challenger. She said González had won in all states and received over 6.2 million votes, while Maduro received only 2.7 million.
The US government and several Latin American countries have also expressed doubts about the official election result.
Maduro is set to begin his third six-year term in January 2025.
Venezuela suffers from mismanagement, corruption and international sanctions.
More than 80% of the population live below the poverty line. According to the UN, over 7 million people – about a quarter of the population – have left the oil-rich country in recent years due to poverty and violence.
