Supporters of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado took to the streets Sunday to demand her safe return and presidential elections that could bring a democratic transition, the Associated Press reported from Caracas.

In Caracas, hundreds of activists in sky-blue shirts, the color of Machado’s Vente Venezuela party, rode motorcycles through the city’s main avenues honking horns and waving flags. Similar rallies took place in state capitals including Valencia, Maracaibo and Merida.

Machado has lived in exile for nine months, and her party says she made three unsuccessful attempts to return on Monday night. Opposition activists accuse Venezuela’s government of blocking her return, a charge authorities deny. Machado was barred from the last presidential election by courts under former President Nicolas Maduro, though her stand-in candidate is widely believed to have won nearly two-thirds of the vote.

The government has been accused of stealing elections, jailing dissidents and stifling free speech. A second round of US-backed talks between the interim government and the opposition led this week to the release of three dozen political prisoners, according to the AP.

The rallies show Venezuela’s opposition pressing for Machado’s return and a democratic presidential vote as talks with the interim government continue.