Top Venezuelan official calls on supporters take to the streets as tensions rise

As polls officially closed in a historic Venezuelan elections, tensions run high with Chavistas and the opposition giving their followers next steps (Credit: AFP)

As tensions rise in Venezuela after polls closed on Sunday, Diosdado Cabello, Vice President of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) called on its supporters to take over the streets.

Cabello, one of the most prominent Chavistas in Venezuela, said this is necessary to defend the popular vote, which he, along with other officials, say favor the government. In contrast, exit polls have shown the main opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia winning the presidency by a landslide.