by The Commentator on 16 April 2013 14:07

Against a background of growing protests in Caracas and mounting evidence about the lack of transparency over last week's Venezulean elections, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has congratulated Chavez's successor, Nicolas Maduro, and confirmed that he will be in attendance at the inauguration ceremony later this week.

The Iranian Fars news agency reports that Ahmadinejad will lead a high-ranking delegation set to depart for the Venezuelan capital after wrapping his tour of Africa later this week.

Yesterday, President Ahmadinejad congratulated Maduro on winning the presidential elections in Venezuela.

"This great victory is another seal of approval on the successful leadership of justice-seeking, freedom-seeking and independence-seeking of Latin American leaders, including the late President Hugo Chavez, in Venezuela," the Iranian president said in the message to his Venezuelan counterpart on Monday.

Ahmadinejad said that Maduro's election has great significance in establishing a new world order considering Venezuela's effective position among independent nations in their freedom-seeking movement. There is however, mounting evidence from opposition sources to suggest that the weekend's election was "rigged". One insider told The Commentator that information is building up, including imagery and eyewitness testimony. "This was a massive and systematic fraud," one source told us. "They stole it and are fine with that." Maduro claims to have won Sunday's presidential elections in Venezuela with 50.66 percent of votes.

"Venezuelans once again reaffirmed the importance of continuing the Bolivarian Revolution and emphasized on historical demands of all justice-seeking nations in the world for continued social, economic, scientific and cultural development in order to establish independent countries by relying on national potential," Ahmadinejad said.

Meanwhile, opposition leaders have urged their supporters to take to the streets. Reports suggest that they have been attacked with tear gas and repelled by armed police.

PROTESTS IN PHOTOS: