Tens of thousands of Venezuelans have been protesting presidential election results

Transcript

A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:

Tens of thousands of Venezuelans have taken to the streets to protest after Sunday's presidential election. Authorities there declared the incumbent, Nicolas Maduro, the winner despite growing cries of fraud. As NPR's Carrie Kahn reports, pressure on Maduro is growing at home and abroad.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Singing in Spanish).

CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE: Singing the national anthem, Venezuelans stretched for blocks down a Caracas boulevard, many draped in Venezuela's flag. Others carried signs reading, don't mess with my vote, and we want peace, not a dictatorship. Sixty-year-old Maria Cecilia Solano says she is feeling so many emotions - happiness, hope and a bit of fright.

MARIA CECILIA SOLANO: (Through interpreter) We're scared because we don't know what's going to happen, but we're very hopeful that we will succeed to bring change to the country.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting in Spanish).

KAHN: The crowd shouts they want to see voting tally records for every precinct, something the country's electoral council is refusing to release. Every polling place prints out a final count. Those tallies are public. But the council, which is packed with Maduro loyalists, says their system was hacked and have yet to produce them. They declared Maduro winner with 51% of the vote to 44% for his leading challenger, Edmundo Gonzalez. The opposition says, however, they've collected the tallies. Supporters roar as Maria Corina Machado, the opposition's most popular figure, who was barred from running, speaks from atop a truck, the sound system barely reaching the large crowd.

MARIA CORINA MACHADO: (Yelling in Spanish).

(CHEERING)

KAHN: "Freedom will return to Venezuela," Machado shouts. She says the opposition has retrieved more than 80% of the precinct tally sheets and shows Gonzalez overwhelmingly won the race.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting in Spanish).

KAHN: The crowd shouts back President Edmundo. The 74-year-old former diplomat, who until a month ago was unknown in political circles, waves to the crowd. For his part, Maduro is ramping up pressure, too. His ally and head of the national assembly called for the arrest of both Machado and Gonzalez. They accuse the two of fomenting violence. And Maduro insists, without providing evidence, that the two are plotting with foreign assistance to oust him from power.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT NICOLAS MADURO: (Yelling in Spanish).

KAHN: Speaking to a crowd outside the presidential palace last night, Maduro called on Gonzalez, who he goaded as Mr. Coward, to face justice. Maduro ordered more police and army to the streets. Governments, including the U.S., continue to pressure Maduro to prove he won the election. Maria Corina Machado told the crowd she won't rest until every vote is counted and urged supporters to be calm and peaceful.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting in Spanish).

KAHN: The crowd chanted back, "we are not afraid. We are not afraid."

Carrie Kahn, NPR News, Caracas.

(SOUNDBITE OF BONOBO'S "CIRRUS") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.