Venezuela Says Recall Vote Could Be Held in First Quarter 2017
- Signature drive for recall petition scheduled for late October
- Opposition has called conditions imposed ‘unconsitutional’
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Venezuela’s Electoral Authority said a recall vote against President Nicolas Maduro could be held in the first quarter of 2017 if all conditions were met.
In statement Wednesday evening, the Electoral Authority, or CNE, said it will issue a ruling in November on whether the referendum can proceed. Before that, the opposition must collect 20 percent of the electorate’s signatures Oct. 26-28 at the state level, instead of nationwide, to trigger a recall vote. The CNE will deploy some 5,400 voter identification machines, which one opposition-aligned rector said was insufficient to verify the roughly 4 million signatures that would be needed.