Fistfights broke out in Venezuela’s Parliament yesterday, injuring a number of legislators during an angry session linked to the South American nation’s bitter election dispute.

The opposition said seven of its parliamentarians were attacked and hurt when protesting a measure to block them from speaking in the National Assembly over their refusal to recognize President Nicolas Maduro’s April 14 vote victory.

Government legislators blamed their “fascist” rivals for starting the violence, which illustrated the volatile state of politics in the Opec nation after the death of late socialist leader Hugo Chavez last month.

“We knew the opposition came to provoke violence,” Maduro said of the incident. “This must not be repeated.”

The 50-year-old Maduro, who was Chavez’s chosen successor, defeated opposition candidate Henrique Capriles by 1.5 percentage points. Capriles, 40, has refused to recognise his victory, alleging that thousands of irregularities occurred and the vote “stolen.”

The vote exposed a nation evenly divided after 14 years of Chavez’s hardline socialist rule.

“They can beat us, jail us, kill us, but we will not sell out our principles,” one of the opposition parliamentarians, Julio Borges, told a local TV station, showing a bruised and bloodied face. “These blows give us more strength.”

One assembly worker said the trouble began when opposition legislators shouted “fascist” at the National Assembly leader and unfolded a protest banner reading “parliamentary coup.”

Government parliamentarians attacked them as laptops, tables and chairs were hurled in the ensuing melee.