Maduro’s socialists set for mayoral poll win in Venezuela

CARACAS: Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro is set for the latest in a sweep of poll victories in mayoral elections on Sunday, with the opposition showing little sign they can prevent his re-election next year.

Battered by a series of electoral defeats, the main opposition parties are boycotting the vote, saying they lack any guarantees of fairness or transparency.

Voters are heading to the polls to elect 355 mayors across the country, but the lack of a serious challenge to Maduro candidates has led to skepticism in the main cities of Caracas, Maracaibo and San Cristobal.

“I’m not going to vote because I don’t believe in the transparency of the CNE (National Election Council),” said Nerver Huerta, a 38-year-old graphic designer in Caracas.

Maduro’s ruling socialist party was handed a clear path to victory after the three main parties in the opposition coalition Democratic Union Roundtable, MUD, refused to participate, although smaller parties have decided to contest the election.

On the cards is a repeat of the electoral drubbing suffered by the opposition in October’s regional elections, which they claim were fraudulent, analysts say.

Battling a crippling economic crisis in the oil-rich, cash-poor nation, Maduro has made an aggressive push to consolidate power in the run-up to next year’s presidential elections.

Risa Grais-Targow of market analysts Eurasia group, said this weekend’s boycott “will likely demoralize the opposition’s base and ensure that the government does quite well.”

That, she said, “along with a solid showing in October’s regional elections, will likely make President Nicolas Maduro feel confident about his ability to control the outcome of next year’s contest.”

According to electoral expert Eugenio Martinez, the opposition would do well to hold on to even half of its 72 mayorships.

“The absence of the main oppositionpartiesandthepressure of the Chavez machinery make it unfeasible for the opposition to maintain even half of the mayorships it controls,” Martinez told AFP.

The ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) will improve on its current 242 mayorships, he said.

Key opposition leaders Maria Corina Machado and Henrique Capriles left the coalition when four of the five elected opposition governors in the regional elections were sworn in before Maduro’s Constituent Assembly. — AFP