Venezuela election: Polls open as Maduro vies for third term

Opposition leaders dispute incumbent president’s defeat of main challenger Edmundo Gonzalez with 51 per cent of votes

Several foreign countries including nine in Latin America have questioned Sunday's election results, while Venezuela's security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protestors on Monday.

Maduro and his opposition rival Edmundo Gonzalez have both claimed victory in the presidential election and anti-Maduro protests have erupted around the South American country.

The presumptive Democratic nominee in the 2024 presidential race faces difficult paths to navigate after Maduro was declared the winner on Sunday, most importantly because the result may lead to what one expert told Newsweek said was likely to be a surge in migration from Venezuelans fleeing his regime.