Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó was prevented by security forces from entering the National Assembly building in Caracas to take part in a vote to re-elect him as Speaker.
In chaotic scenes on Sunday, he attempted to climb over a fence but was pushed back by national guard officers. Inside the chamber, a group of dissident opposition lawmakers formed a bizarre alliance with members of President Nicolás Maduro’s Socialist party and chose Luis Parra, a former Guaidó ally, as Speaker.
Some Guaidó loyalists managed to enter the building, and fighting between rival opposition politicians broke out.
Supporters of Mr Guaidó said the situation amounted to “a parliamentary coup” and held an improvised session in the offices of pro-opposition newspaper El Nacional. Their tally said 100 of parliament’s 167 legislators approved him as Speaker, and Mr Guaidó took an oath of office at the scene.