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WORLD NEWS Wednesday 24 May 2017
Venezuela regional election

date set amid opposition rebuke

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) The government abruptly Since Venezuela’s wave
— Electoral officials are postponed regional elec- of unrest began in March
scheduling long-delayed tions the opposition was Maduro has repeatedly
regional elections in Ven- heavily favored to win last stated he was “anxious”
ezuela for December, year and called off a peti- for the regional elections
though the apparent olive tion drive to force a refer- to take place soon, say-
branch may never come endum seeking Maduro’s ing the government would
to fruition as a special as- removal before presiden- handily win, though polls A demonstrator is briefly detained by security forces during
an anti-government protest demanding Venezuelan President
sembly to rewrite the na- tial elections slated for next indicate the majority want Nicolas Maduro open a so-called humanitarian corridor for
tion’s constitution is slated year. him out of power.q the delivery of medicine and food aid, in Caracas, Venezuela,
to take place first. Monday, May 22, 2017.
The chief of the embattled Associated Press
South American nation’s
electoral council said Tues-
day officials were look-
ing to hold elections for
President Nicolas Madu-
ro’s constituent assembly
tasked with rewriting the
nation’s constitution in July.
Under the terms proposed
by Maduro, a third of the
assembly’s 540 members
will be reserved for rep-
resentatives selected by
special constituencies and
organizations such as work-
ers and retirees. Critics say
such groups are dominat-
ed by the ruling socialists
and rather than continue
Venezuela’s democratic
tradition of universal suf-
frage and direct elections
by secret ballot the meth-
od could tilt the outcome
in favor of the government.
That assembly could de-
cide to change the na-
tion’s electoral council or
not hold the regional elec-
tions at all.
Opposition leaders were
quick to cry foul at the pro-
posal.
“The Venezuelan people
don’t want Maduro’s con-
stituent fraud,” former pres-
idential candidate Hen-
rique Capriles said. “We
don’t accept it!”
Nearly two months of anti-
government protests have
left at least 53 people
dead as opposition mem-
bers demand early presi-
dential elections. Demon-
strators contend Maduro’s
government is quickly slid-
ing toward becoming an
authoritarian regime, and
that the effort to rewrite
the constitution is one
more attempt by Maduro
to consolidate his power.
They are also decrying
Venezuela’s triple-digit in-
flation, soaring crime and
vast food shortages.