Protests at Chavez victory

Hugo Chavez remains defiant depite the protests

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has sent in troops to deal with unrest after protests erupted in several Venezuelan states over the results of Sunday's elections.

International observers said the presidential vote, in which Mr Chavez overwhelmingly defeated his challenger, Francisco Arias, was clean and fair.

But close results in a number of states have led to supporters of the defeated candidates to call for a recount.

Tensions were particularly high in the state of Merida, close to the Colombian border, where a pro-Chavez candidate, Florencio Porras, narrowly beat the incumbent governor, William Davila.

According to some reports, Mr Davila has refused to leave the state government office, and rival groups of supporters pelted each other with stones outside the building.

The governor said nine people were injured in the disturbances.

"It's clear that there was a fraud, which the people of Merida reject," he said, questioning the large number of void votes and discrepancies between the electoral roll and eventual vote tallies.

'Little spat'

However, Mr Chavez accused Mr Davila of refusing to accept a clear defeat, and said he had sent in troops to restore order.

"They have a mob there with rocks, sticks and bottles and they don't want to leave the state governorship," he told a news conference.

Turn out at the polls was high

"This isn't going to be any more than a little spat, but we're obliged to guarantee order and prevent these groups from spoiling the beautiful [electoral] process that we went through," he said.

Mr Chavez has vowed to continue his ambitious programme of economic reforms.

According to the latest official results, Mr Chavez's left-wing Patriotic Pole alliance won 14 of the country's 23 states, and 60% of seats in a new National Assembly.

But close results in some areas has led to calls for a manual recount by supporters and candidates, who have raised questions over the reliability of an electronic vote counting system.

Results disputed

Public prosecutor Javier Elechiguerra said results were being disputed in seven states as well as in the capital Caracas, where the favourite for re-election to the post of mayor was pipped by a pro-Chavez candidate.

Defeated candidates blame the electronic voting system

Mr Elechiguerra said his office had received hundreds of complaints of ballot card tampering, voting machine errors and campaigning on election day, which is banned.

But he urged the losing candidates not to stir up protests, and to lodge any objections through peaceful, legal means.

"Democracy consists of recognising when one has lost," he said, speaking at a news conference.