Venezuela opposition urges global protest over poll result

Venezuela’s opposition party has called for protests to be held worldwide on 17 August in support of its claim to have won the country’s presidential election.

President Nicolás Maduro was declared the winner by the government-controlled electoral commission, which handed him a third consecutive term in office.

The opposition says its candidate, Edmundo González, was the real winner, and has called for the commission to release detailed data from polling stations.

This call has been backed by the European Union and the US while a number of other Latin American nations have so far held off recognising Mr Maduro as the winner of last month’s poll.