VENEZUELA’S OPPOSITION TAKES PART IN LOCAL RACES

Under the scrutiny of international observers, Venezuelans cast ballots for thousands of local races Sunday in an election that for the first time in four years included major opposition participation, a move that divided the already fractured bloc adversarial to President Nicolás Maduro.

More than 130 international monitors, mostly from the European Union, fanned out across the South American nation to take note of electoral conditions such as fairness, media access, campaign activities and disqualification of candidates. Their presence was among a series of moves meant to build confidence in Venezuela’s long-tarnished electoral system, but turnout was still low.

“It gives me a little more confidence that they respect our right to vote and respect our vote because we want this to change,” hospital worker Pedro Martinez, 56, said of the election observers’ work.

Yet he understood why few people were in line at the polling center in an eastern Caracas neighborhood that typically votes against Maduro and his allies: Opposition leaders “fight amongst themselves.”

More than 21 million Venezuelans were eligible to vote in over 3,000 contests, including for 23 governors and 335 mayors. More than 70,000 candidates entered the races.

Historically, voter turnout has been low for state and municipal elections, with abstention hovering around 70 percent.

The regional contests normally don’t attract much attention beyond the country’s borders, but Sunday was different because of the steps taken by Maduro’s regime and his adversaries

leading up to the election.