Day after voting for assembly, UK says Venezuela 'stands on brink of disaster'

London: Britain's Foreign Minister Boris Johnson has warned that Venezuela "stands on the brink of disaster" following a bloody vote which gave greater power to President Nicolas Maduro.

Venezuela stands on the brink of disaster and Nicolas Maduro's government must stop before it is too late. "The country is turning on itself more than 100 have died already and democracy and basic rights are in jeopardy," Johnson said in a statement on Monday.

Britain's reaction came a day after Venezuela's election of a new "Constituent Assembly" superseding the country's legislative body, the opposition-controlled National Assembly.

The move hands almost total power to Maduro's Socialist party and was described as "dubious" by Johnson. Ten people died in violence surrounding the vote on Sunday, including two teenagers, while more than 120 people are recorded to have died in four months of protest against the Venezuelan president.

Britain's foreign minister said the election has "dramatically deepened the problems and ramped up tensions". "It is time for the government to see sense and start working with the opposition on a way forward that brings the people of Venezuela back together," he added.

Sunday's vote has also been criticised by the European Union and countries including the United States, which on Monday imposed sanctions on Maduro and branded him a "dictator".

Mexico and Colombia were among others condemning the Venezuelan president, who was supported in the wake of the poll by Russia, Cuba, Nicaragua and Bolivia.