Venezuela on a knife-edge as opposition accuses Maduro of rigging election

Election results appear to have dashed opposition hopes of ending a quarter century of chavista rule

• ‘We are longing for change’: Venezuelans furious as Maduro claims election victory

Nicolás Maduro’s claim of victory in Venezuela’s presidential election has brought the South American country to a hazardous standoff, with his thwarted opponents accusing him of rigging the election to remain in power, and many leaders in the region and beyond questioning the veracity and transparency of the vote.

Sunday’s results, which followed an election described by independent observers as the most arbitrary in recent years – even by the standards of the authoritarian regime founded by Maduro’s mentor and predecessor, Hugo Chávez – appeared to have dashed opposition hopes of ending a quarter of a century of chavista rule and economic turmoil.