Why Venezuela’s Opposition Is Boycotting Congress Vote

Since 2015, Venezuela’s National Assembly has been the center of opposition to the government of President Nicolas Maduro. Juan Guaido, the man recognized by the U.S. and around 50 other nations as the country’s rightful leader, based his effort to oust Maduro on the support of a majority of the Assembly, widely considered the last democratically-elected body in the nation’s government. But Maduro seized control of the Assembly earlier this year, and its role as the last bastion of the opposition is likely to end in parliamentary elections on Sunday.

Venezuelans are set to elect the 277 lawmakers who will make up the new National Assembly starting Jan. 5. The number of seats is larger than the current Assembly: Earlier this year, the Supreme Court, which Maduro controls, created an electoral council that increased the number of Assembly seats by more than half for this election.