Venezuela suspends recall campaign against President Maduro
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) —
Venezuela's electoral authority suspended a recall drive against President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday less than a week before it was set to start, throwing the opposition's key campaign to oust the socialist leader into disarray.
Officials cited alleged fraud in a preliminary signature-gathering effort as justification for blocking the opposition from proceeding to the next stage of its push to hold a referendum on Maduro's removal. His critics blame the late President Hugo Chavez's heir for Venezuela's economic collapse, bare store shelves and the jailing of opposition leaders.
The opposition immediately blasted the decision as unconstitutional.
Polls say a majority of Venezuelans want Maduro gone. The opposition charges that in the face of overwhelming voter discontent, the socialist party has simply decided to put off elections indefinitely.
The opposition staged its largest street demonstration in years on Sept. 1, with a rally in Caracas demanding a referendum against Maduro be held in 2016. But apart from that protest, most anti-government rallies this year have been relatively small and quick to disperse.
On Thursday night, hard line leaders started calling for more massive street protests in the face of election authority's ruling.
"This is the time for national unity," wrote former presidential candidate Maria Corina Machado on her Twitter account.
"Every single person must take to the streets, with strength and without fear, to make the transition a reality."
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