Venezuelans protest worldwide against the result of the presidential elections

Venezuelans around the world have heeded a call from their country's political opposition and taken to the streets to defend the faction's claim to victory over Nicolás Maduro in last month's disputed presidential election.

With demonstrations in Tokyo, Sydney, Mexico City and several other locations, the largest opposition coalition tried to make what it believed to be the true election result visible.

They also called on governments to support candidate Edmundo González and to assist Venezuelans who fear speaking out in their home country amid a brutal campaign of repression against Maduro and his allies.

As thousands of Venezuelans waved the national flag, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado rode a truck through the streets of Caracas on Saturday, shouting “courage” and “freedom.” She then told a crowd that this was the moment “when every voice is respected.”

Amid cheers from thousands, she added: “The world and everyone in Venezuela should recognize that the elected president is Edmundo Gonzalez.”

Earlier, Mr Gonzalez wrote on social media site X: “You will not be able to cover up the reality of July 28: we won an overwhelming victory.”

He did not take part in the demonstration in Caracas.

At the Revolution Monument in Mexico City, hundreds of people, young and old, loudly repeated the slogans of “Freedom, freedom” that dominated opposition rallies before the election. “Maduro out, Maduro out,” they shouted as passing motorists honked their horns.

“What is happening is that Venezuela has woken up… so much so that the government does not dare to present the ballots,” said Antonia Imbernon, referring to the voting documents that are considered the ultimate proof of the election result. “What are they afraid of?”

Venezuela's National Electoral Council, whose members are loyal to the ruling party, declared Maduro the winner of the July 28 election hours after polls closed. Unlike in previous presidential elections, the electoral body has not released detailed vote count data to support its claim that Maduro received 6.4 million votes while Gonzalez, representing the opposition Unity Platform coalition, received 5.3 million votes.

But Mr Gonzalez and opposition leader Ms Machado shocked Venezuelans when they announced that they had received more than 80% of the vote in the counting lists issued by all electronic voting machines after polls closed. The documents, they said, showed Mr Gonzalez had won by a wide margin and were uploaded to a website where anyone can view them.

In Mexico City, some people held signs criticizing the Mexican government's decision not to attend an Organization of American States hearing on the electoral crisis in Venezuela on Friday.

“Mexico, we missed you at the OEA,” read one sign – the Spanish abbreviation for the regional organization.

The opposition has repeatedly stressed that it needs the help of the international community to persuade Maduro to accept the unfavorable election result.

“This time the mockery is even greater because there is evidence; everyone can see it,” said Janett Hurtado, 57, who left Venezuela two years ago, referring to the ballots. “(The government) has once again deprived us of other elections.”

Ms Hurtado said she had noticed that Venezuelans were afraid to speak out against Maduro after the South American country saw numerous arrests in connection with protests sparked by the election results. She said she had friends who had not sent her a single text message since then.

Security forces have arrested more than 2,000 people for demonstrating against Maduro or raising doubts about his claim that he won a third term, even though there is strong evidence that he lost the election by a margin of more than 2-1. Another 24 have been killed, according to Venezuela-based human rights group Provea.

The wave of arrests, driven by Maduro himself, is unprecedented and will mean that Venezuela will soon imprison significantly more people than during the three previous crackdowns on his opponents.

Those arrested include journalists, politicians, campaign staff and a lawyer defending protesters. Others had their Venezuelan passports confiscated when they tried to leave the country.

The opposition suffered a setback on Thursday when Brazil and Colombia – which had previously pressured Maduro to release vote counts supporting his claim of victory – proposed a rerun of the election campaign instead.

Ms Machado has categorically rejected any plan to repeat the election, saying it would be an “insult” to the people.