Venezuela: People Vote In Symbolic Referendum
Local Editor
After more than three months of protests, the Venezuelan opposition and government decided to hold two electoral events in the country on Sunday.
The opposition's vote seeks, through a popular consultation, to let people share opinions about the Constituent Assembly.
The second, organized by the government, is a rehearsal and aims to familiarize people with the constituent election due to take place on July 30.
"Through an executive decree, we as citizens are called to for a constituent process. The idea of the Constituent Assembly is that 500 Venezuelans will have the right to draft new laws and new articles, and then this new constitution will be voted," Ricardo Leon, editor of El Silbon Information Agency, told Al Jazeera.
"The oligarchy is afraid of this because they can lose space of power and economic control," he added.
Today, the opposition will ask voters if they support the government's plan to elect a National Constituent Assembly that will overhaul the 1999 constitution.
However, the plebiscite does not have the support of the electoral power nor the government, which considers it illegal.
The process seeks to show the rejection of Maduro, his government, and the role of the armed forces who are accused of repression.
But the government said it would ask the Supreme Court of Justice to nullify the plebiscite as "unconstitutional, and illegal".
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
Comments
- Related News
