The Day

Venezuelan­s protest power grab by not voting

- By MICHAEL WEISSENSTE­IN

Caracas, Venezuela — Venezuelan­s stayed away from the polls in massive numbers on Sunday in a show of protest against a vote to grant President Nicolas Maduro’s ruling socialist party virtually unlimited powers in the face of a brutal socio-economic crisis and a grinding battle against its political opponents and groups of increasing­ly alienated and violent young protesters.

The government swore to continue its push for total political dominance of this once-prosperous OPEC nation, a move likely to trigger U.S. sanctions and new rounds of the street fighting that has killed at least 122 and wounded nearly 2,000 since protests began in April.

Venezuela’s chief prosecutor’s office reported seven deaths Sunday in clashes between protesters and police across the country. Seven police officers were wounded when an explosion went off as they drove past piles of trash that had been used to blockade a street in an opposition stronghold in eastern Caracas.

Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Panama, Peru and the United States said they would not recognize Sunday’s vote. Canada and Mexico have also issued statements repudiatin­g the election.

Across the capital of more than 2 million people, dozens of polling places were virtually empty, including many that saw hours-long lines of thousands voting to keep the government in power over the last two decades. By contrast, at the Poliedro sports and cultural complex in western Caracas, several thousand people waited about two hours to vote, many drawn from opposition-dominated neighborho­ods where polling places were closed. But at least three dozen other sites visited by The Associated Press had no more than a few hundred voters at any one time, with many virtually empty.

Opposition leaders had called for a boycott of the vote, declaring it rigged for the ruling party, and by late afternoon they were declaring the low turnout a resounding victory.

“It’s very clear to us that the government has suffered a defeat today,” said Julio Borges, president of the opposition-controlled but largely powerless National Assembly. “This vote brings us closer to the government leaving power.”

Maduro called the vote for a constituti­onal assembly in May after a month of protests against his government, which has overseen Venezuela’s descent into a devastatin­g crisis during its four years in power.

 ?? ARIANA CUBILLOS/AP PHOTO ?? Voters wait outside a polling station to cast their ballots during Sunday’s election for a constituti­onal assembly in Caracas, Venezuela. President Nicolas Maduro asked for global acceptance on Sunday as he cast an unusual pre-dawn vote for an...
ARIANA CUBILLOS/AP PHOTO Voters wait outside a polling station to cast their ballots during Sunday’s election for a constituti­onal assembly in Caracas, Venezuela. President Nicolas Maduro asked for global acceptance on Sunday as he cast an unusual pre-dawn vote for an...

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