Opponents of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro have boycotted an election for a controversial assembly - claiming the polls are rigged and that the vote is a another move by the president to further cement his control of the country's institutions.
Reports said streets in many cities were largely quiet as a trickle of people went out to vote, while tens of thousands of troops were deployed to ensure order, yet in Caracas a number of police were said to have been injured after an explosion at an anti-government protest. Earlier, there were reports of at least two people being killed.
Mr Maduro, who was elected in 2013 following the death of Hugo Chavez, cast his vote in Caracas shortly after 6am. As he did, he asked for global acceptance of the results.
“We’ve stoically withstood the terrorist, criminal violence,” Mr Maduro said, according to the Associated Press. “Hopefully the world will respectfully extend its arms toward our country.”
Yet Venezuela’s opposition parties boycotted the vote. They have argued the new assembly will allow the president to dissolve the opposition-run Congress, suspend future elections and rewrite electoral rules.
The day before the vote, opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, who was recently released from jail, said there would be protests across the country. “No to constitutional fraud,” he said on Twitter.
“Even if they win today, this won't last long,” said opposition supporter Berta Hernandez, referring to the vote that only contained government candidates. “I’ll continue on the streets because, not long from now, this will come to an end.”
The controversy over the assembly is the latest development in months of unrest that have beset Venezuela against a backdrop of food shortages, soaring inflation and growing anger against the government. Even many supporters of Mr Chavez have grown weary with what they consider Mr Maduro’s ineffectiveness; the opposition has called for him to stand down.
More than 100 people have been killed in recent months as a result of protests. Among the latest to lose their life was a government assembly candidate, Felix Pineda, 39, who was shot dead at his home on Saturday night.
Earlier this month, the opposition organised an unofficial referendum over Mr Maduro’s plan. More than seven million voters rejected the constituent assembly and voted in favour of early general elections.
Last week, Donald Trump’s administration urged Venezuela not to go ahead with the poll and moved to impose sanctions on 13 senior Venezuelan officials close to Mr Maduro.
Mr Maduro dismissed the move by the US at a rally ahead of the vote.
“Congratulations for these imperialist sanctions,” he said, according to Reuters. “What makes the imperialists of the United States think they are the world government?”
Last week, it emerged that the head of of the CIA had hinted the US was seeking to secure a government change in Venezuela and was working with Mexico and Colombia to make it happen.
“So I want to be careful with what I say but suffice to say, we are very hopeful that there can be a transition in Venezuela and we, the CIA, is doing its best to understand the dynamic there, so that we can communicate to our State Department and to others,” CIA Director Mike Pompeo said during in answer to a question at a security forum.
