Venezuela's prosecutor's office has asked a court to suspend today's inauguration of a constituent assembly over claims of electoral fraud. It came after Chief Prosecutor Luisa Ortega opened an investigation into the allegations, which have been dismissed by President Nicol's Maduro. <br/><br/>A firm that supplied the voting system said turnout figures had been inflated. The opposition boycotted Sunday's vote and will hold rallies in the capital, Caracas, as the ceremony takes place. In a post on Twitter, Ms Ortega's office said the case had been filed by two state prosecutors based on suspected crimes committed during the election. <br/><br/>Ms Ortega was once a close ally of President Maduro but is now one of his fiercest critics. Luisa Ortega has called for an independent audit of the vote after allegations that the figure for the turnout was inflated.<br/><br/><br/>Meanwhile, the US has said that it will not recognise Venezuela's National Constituent Assembly, terming it as the illegitimate product of a flawed process. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement that the process was rigged from the start, from the irregular manner in which the election was decreed to the government's refusal to permit voters to object to plans to rewrite the constitution. <br/>Early this week, in an unprecedented move, the Trump administration announced sanctions against President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, in retaliation of the latter's threat against his opposition leaders and the elections which has been denounced by the international community as illegitimate.