President Maduro of Venezuela and the country’s electoral authorities have rejected accusations of fraud in last Sunday’s vote for a new constituent assembly.<br /><br />The company behind the voting system has said it was tampered with to inflate the turnout – and that the real figures were at least a million below the government’s estimate of over eight million.<br /><br />Before a televised gathering of supporters, Nicolas Maduro turned on what he called “a firm with its headquarters in London and bank accounts in the US”.<br /><br />“The stupid president of Smartmatic pressurised by the gringos and the British said there were over seven million voters. I believe there were more than 10 million Venezuelans who came out onto the streets and more than 8 (million) voted. The rest had to face the barricades,” Maduro said.<br /><br />Turnout is seen as a key indicator of government support.<br /><br />The president insisted that the election was transparent and properly audited. Maduro also criticised a report by Reuters. The news agency claimed it had seen election documents which showed that fewer than four million votes had been cast two hours before polls closed – in turn casting doubt on the official outcome.<br /><br />Venezuela’s Attorney General Luisa Ortega Díaz, who had already called the new Constituent Assembly illegitimate, told CNN she had launched an investigation into the vote. <br /><br />The new assembly will have the power to sack the chief prosecutor and dissolve the opposition-run Congress.<br /><br />Last month the Congress swore in more than 30 judges in defiance of the pro-government Supreme Court, which promptly declared the appointments unconstitutional.<br /><br />At least three judges have been detained, while another three have taken refuge in the Chilean ambassador’s residence in Caracas.<br /><br />International condemnation has been widespread, with Maduro accused of a power-grab and presiding over economic chaos; the president says the new assembly is needed to bring peace and stability.<br />
