Maduro ‘rigging’ vote as Venezuela calls snap poll

Venezuela’s pro-government electoral council has set April 22 as the date for a snap presidential election which opponents accuse Nicolás Maduro, the Left-wing president, of using to engineer a second term in office.

Tibisay Lucena, head of the council, announced the date after mediation talks broke down. With the opposition coalition barred from fielding a candidate and several Maduro critics banned, the unpopular leader’s rivals accuse him of trying to rig the vote, which would not normally be due until December.