A little less than two-thirds of Venezuelans think Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro stand down this year, as the opposition pushes to oust him amid a grueling economic crisis, a survey by a leading pollster said.
About 63.6 percent of Venezuelans said Maduro should quit this year or be removed via a recall referendum, versus about 29.3 percent of Venezuelans who want him to keep governing until 2019, when his mandate ends, according to the poll.
About 90.9 percent of those surveyed last month by pollster Datanalisis viewed the nation’s situation as negative.
However, Maduro’s approval rating edged up to 33.1 percent from 32 percent in January, with negative views slipping to 63.4 percent from 66.4 percent.
The opposition, which retorts that Maduro’s unwillingness to reform is pushing Venezuela toward an economic disaster, is pursuing a multi-pronged strategy to oust him via protests, a constitutional amendment to cut his mandate, and a recall referendum, as allowed under the constitution halfway through a presidential term.
In the event of a referendum, 52.1 percent of Venezuelans would vote to remove him from office, up from 44.5 percent in January, while 30.1 percent would vote to keep him on, down from 37.7 percent, according to the poll.
The opposition needs to collect about 3.9 million signatures in three days, ratified by the national electoral board, to trigger a referendum within the next three months.
However, the number who vote against Maduro would need to be more than the roughly 7.5 million who backed him in the 2013 election.
The survey of 1,000 homes was conducted from Feb. 18 tot Feb. 27 and has a 3.04 percent margin of error.
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