Venezuelans Demand Referendum Vote on Maduro

On September 7, Venezuelan demonstrators held a march in different cities across the country to pressure electoral authorities to allow a recall referendum against President Nicolás Maduro. The nationwide protests have manifested after the recent mobilization of hundreds of thousands in the country’s capital of Caracas for the same cause. Opposition supporters gathered in major cities in Venezuela’s 24 provinces and advanced toward the regional headquarters of the National Electoral Council (CNE), which is being accused of delaying the recall process after it was voted-in by the opposition-dominated National Assembly. Electoral authorities have yet to set the date for the next stage of the process, in which the opposition must collect signatures from 20 percent of the electorate over three days. Only when the signatures are validated would a referendum vote be scheduled.

If a referendum takes place before January 10 and President Maduro loses the recall vote, new presidential elections will be held. After that date, however, there would be a direct transition from President Maduro to current Vice President Aristóbulo Isturíz. A referendum on Maduro is seen by many in the opposition as the solution to the plethora of problems that Venezuela currently faces, including an economic crisis characterized by widespread shortages and an estimated inflation rate of 720 percent, in addition to government corruption and inefficiency.

Protesters failed to reach CNE headquarters, which were heavily-guarded by police in anticipation of the manifestation.

“We tell the corrupt, inefficient, and misruling government: you are surrounded by a country that wants change. So give up, clear the way because we will recall [the president],” assured opposition member Jesús Torrealba. In response, chavista leader Elías Jaua expressed, “There will be no recall vote since [the opposition] was late because of their contradictions and divisions.”

Opposition leader and former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles announced

, “The people will continue to mobilize until [authorities] formally announce the next stage [of the process].”