CARACAS, Venezuela _ Venezuela's ruling socialists and opponents agreed to postpone general elections from April 22 until the second half of May and invite international observers to monitor the balloting, following widespread outcry that President Nicolas Maduro had attempted to rig the vote.
The agreement calls for holding presidential, state legislator and municipal council elections simultaneously after May 15, and both sides agreed to form a mixed commission to meet with the U.N.'s secretary-general to request a delegation of electoral observers.
But the agreement is unlikely to quell widespread criticism within opposition ranks and abroad that the elections will lack legitimacy. The majority of parties that make up the Democratic Unity Roundtable, known as MUD for its Spanish acronym, announced last week they would boycott the ballot, saying it's a sham to guarantee Maduro another six-year term.
Earlier this week, Bloomberg News reported that Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez and key members of the opposition coalition had resumed talks to push back the election and shake up the National Electoral Council, which Maduro has stacked with loyalists.
But the MUD failed to reach on consensus on the government's latest terms, and former Gov. Henri Falcon broke ranks and officially registered as a candidate Wednesday.
The MUD has since expelled Falcon from the opposition alliance, and many analysts fear he stands little chance without the coalition's support.
Rodriguez, who for months has lead closed-door talks on Maduro's behalf, touted the deal as definitive remedy to Venezuela's bitter political crisis, which spilled over into months of bloody protests last year.
"What alternative do they have?" he asked reporters. "There is no other option; the only option is votes."
