BOGOTA, Colombia _ Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro may be running virtually unopposed in the April 22 presidential race.
On Wednesday, the coalition of opposition parties known as the MUD said it wouldn't be fielding a candidate in the snap elections it considers fraudulent.
In a statement, the group said the April vote was "simply a show by the government to demonstrate a legitimacy it doesn't have amid the agony and suffering of Venezuelans."
Last month, after talks between the government and the opposition broke down, the National Electoral Council, which is controlled by the ruling party, called for an early election.
The decision to hold the vote in April _ and not December, when it's traditionally held _ caught the opposition off guard, without time to hold primaries or unite behind a single candidate.
The United States and several countries in the region have already said they won't recognize the election results.
In its statement, the MUD said it wants to build a "broad national front" that will press for "real elections" later this year.
The decision didn't come as much of a surprise because some of the MUD's most powerful members _ including Leopoldo Lopez's Voluntad Popular party _ already had said they wouldn't participate in a race they see as being rigged.
The election comes as Venezuela is mired in a deep economic, social and political crisis and amid rising hunger.
So far, only one candidate, television evangelist Javier Bertucci, has registered to run against Maduro.
Polls show that the president has approval ratings of between 20 and 30 percent, but absent a consolidated opposition, analysts expect Maduro to easily win another six-year term.
