Loading ...A nearly year-long push by Venezuela’s opposition to gather support for a referendum recall against President Nicolas Maduro hit a wall late Thursday after the National Electoral Council suspended the next phase of the process, cementing the ruling party’s hold on power.
The opposition was preparing to gather signatures of 20 percent of registered voters next week to try and trigger a recall vote before year-end which could have prompted fresh elections that polls show Maduro would lose. If the referendum is held next year, a loss at the polls for the president would mean that his vice president takes over until 2019.