Elections for Venezuela’s state governorships are to be held next year rather than in December as expected, the election board said on Tuesday, giving the unpopular socialist government more breathing space before going to the polls.
Critics say authorities have delayed the elections — and are also seeking to derail an opposition push for a referendum to recall Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro — because they are frightened of letting Venezuelans have their say.
Maduro, who replaced the popular former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez in 2013 after his death, has seen his ratings halve to just more than 20 percent amid a deep economic crisis in the OPEC nation.
Photo: AFP
The 23 state governors’ four-year terms were to end in early January, with elections anticipated for December.
However, Venezuelan National Election Board head Tibisay Lucena, who the opposition says is close to the government, said they would instead be held toward the middle of next year.
Although Lucena did not give reasons, government officials have said exceptional measures are justified because of a US-led “economic war” against them and the oil price crash.
“This decision by the election board is part of a dangerous trend by a regime clearly acting outside the constitution,” the opposition Democratic Unity coalition said.
With Chavez suffering from cancer, but having just won re-election himself, the socialists swept to victory in 20 states in the last regional elections in 2012.
However, opinion polls show they would fare badly in any election and government sources have said they are hoping for an oil price recovery to help them.
The opposition has pushed for a referendum this year to remove Maduro and trigger a presidential election.
However, even if they collect the 4 million signatures needed to trigger the plebiscite, in a drive later this month, such a vote could only take place next year.
Under Venezuela’s constitutional rules, that means that should Maduro lose a referendum next year, his vice president would take over rather than there being a new election, dashing the opposition’s hopes of ending 17 years of socialism.
Later on Tuesday, Maduro said that various opposition parties were at risk of losing their legal status and needed to renew their registry with the electoral board if they wanted to participate in next year’s state polls.
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