Opposition leaders, election experts decry Venezuela vote

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro casts his vote at a polling station during the Constituent Assembly election in Caracas, Venezuela. Miraflores Palace/via REUTERS

CARACAS (Reuters) - President Nicolas Maduro says 8 million Venezuelans cast ballots on Sunday in an election that will give his leftist government more power, but experts say the voting was rife with irregularities and opposition leaders are crying foul.

The official vote tally is similar to those seen in victories won by late President Hugo Chavez when he was at the peak of his popularity, and tens of thousands of ecstatic red-shirted Venezuelans danced and cheered at the presidential palace when he was re-elected.