Venezuela’s National Election Council (CNE) says the country’s opposition will “probably” be able to continue its progress towards a mid-term recall referendum in late October.
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Electoral officials on Tuesday set a timetable for a recall drive against President Nicolas Maduro that makes it unlikely Venezuela will have an early presidential election that could put the opposition in power.
Based on previous experiences, the process to hold a recall referendum is estimated to take several months from beginning to end, although there is no specific time frame due to the requirements and verifications needed prior to a vote.
The timing is said to play a key role in the process as the opposition alliance is expected to have an edge over Maduro if the recall vote happens by this year.
The announcement by the CNE chief indicates that if a referendum to bring down Maduro is not called before January 10, 2017, the time will have expired for calling new elections.
The opposition has accused the CNE of delays benefiting President Maduro’s administration, while Lucena has vowed not to give in to “pressure from anyone”. However, the right-wing opposition did not begin gathering signatures from citizens in support of the recall referendum until May. Polls indicate the government would lose the referendum.
Once the call has been made, within three days at least 4 million Venezuelans, the equivalent of 20 percent of registered voters, must express their willingness to personally certify that they are in favor of a referendum being called.
The electoral office’s announcement is reported to trigger intense tensions in a highly polarised country.
Opposition leader Henrique Capriles, who would have a good shot at winning a presidential election if it were scheduled this year, warned that the October timeline could push an increasingly desperate country to the breaking point.
After this latest development, the opposition – which has lambasted officials for demanding fingerprints to back up phase one of this process and which required just one percent of the electorate’s vote – are now threatening to bypass the entire process, and hold a nationwide referendum rally on 1 September.
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“The elections officials know that closing the tiny window of democratic change that we still have puts the country in a very risky place”, Capriles said at a news conference.
