Venezuelans queue up for Opp. vote
Polls opened in Venezuela on Sunday in an opposition-organised vote to measure public support for President Nicolas Maduro’s plan to rewrite the Constitution, against a backdrop of worsening political violence.
Dozens of people were queuing in Caracas neighbourhoods including Chacaito and Los Palos Grandes before polling stations opened at 7.00 am, according to the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) opposition coalition.
They are due to close at 4.00 pm, though they will remain open as long as people are in line.
Delegates and volunteers, many dressed in white, manned tents and tables at some 14,300 polling stations nationwide.
Mr Maduro supporters are boycotting the vote, and the National Electoral Council has refused to authorise it, so the outcome is not binding.
Opposition leaders expect as many as 11 million of people to cast ballots anyway, voting to reject the President’s controversial plan for a separate referendum on July 30 to elect a constituent assembly to rewrite the Constitution.
The Opposition is boycotting the Madurobacked vote.
They hope a big turnout on Sunday will increase pressure for Mr Maduro’s removal from power, clearing the way for new presidential elections before his term ends in January 2019. The rival elections have given rise to international worries, voiced by the Catholic Church and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, that the chances of bringing both sides together for dialogue have become more remote.
That in turn is stoking fears of more protests and running street battles with the police, clashes that have cost the lives of nearly 100 people since the beginning of April.