CARACAS/SAN
CRISTOBAl, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuela's opposition kicked off an
unofficial referendum on Sunday to increase pressure on President Nicolas
Maduro as he seeks to create a legislative superbody that his adversaries call
the consolidation of a dictatorship.
The symbolic
poll, which also asked voters if they want early elections, is intended to
further dent Maduro's legitimacy amid a crippling economic crisis and months of
anti-government protests that have led to around 100 deaths. (Graphic -
Venezuela's dark days tmsnrt.rs/2pPJdRb)
The
opposition has cast the vote, which began at 7 a.m. local time at some 2,000
centers around the country, as an act of civil disobedience to be followed by
"zero hour," a possible reference to a national strike or other
escalated actions against Maduro.
Queues
formed early at many polling stations in the oil-rich nation of 30 million as
Venezuelans furious over food shortages and rampant inflation sought to make
their voices heard.
"We
want this government of Nicolas (Maduro) out. We're tired of not seeing
solutions, there are people dying of hunger," said Mercedes Guerrero de
Ramirez, an 80 year-old former hospital worker, who arrived at the polling
station at 5:30 a.m. in San Cristobal city near the Colombian border and was
first in line.
But the vote
does not appear to augur a short-term change of government or a solution to the
country's political stalemate.
Maduro, 54,
said the plebiscite is illegal and meaningless. Instead, the leftist leader is
campaigning for an official July 30 vote for the new assembly, which will be
able to rewrite the constitution and dissolve state institutions.
Voters on
Sunday are being asked three questions: if they reject the constitutional
assembly, if they want the armed forces to defend the existing constitution and
if they want elections before Maduro's term in office ends in 2018.
"The
reality of tomorrow will be very different from that of today," said
National Assembly president Julio Borges on Sunday morning.
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