Venezuela Opposition Leader Fears Possible Cancellation of Elections
Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles says he fears President Nicolas Maduro will cancel key legislative elections later this year because the country's government is facing a huge crisis right now, Yahoo! News reports according to AFP.
Marduro's approval rating is at about 20 percent as the Latin American country is experiencing an economic recession and oil prices continue to plunge.
The residents of Venezuela are facing chronic shortages on basic goods in what has been dubbed the worst crisis for the political movement founded by Hugo Chavez.
"The government had never had such a large deficit (in the polls) heading into an election. Now it does. How does it change that? It rigs the game," Capriles told AFP in an interview Tuesday.
"Is it capable of suspending (the election)? I think they're capable of anything," he said.
Capriles lost the presidential vote to Maduro back in 2013 after Chavez's death.
The crisis that Venezuela now faces could mean that the opposition group could win control of the National Assembly.
Yet, protests led through the streets of Venezuela against the country's current government had resulted in bloody violence.
The Venezuelan government wants the opposition to "fall into the trap of violence," Capriles said.
He added, "They want to instill fear in people." Suspending the elections "is a bomb that the government could make explode."
Capriles, the governor of the wealthy northern state of Miranda and a lawyer, believes that the opposition party can win elections because of Venezuela's current economic crisis.
"There's no reason to lose. It would be stupid, it would be self-destructive," Capriles said in hopes of ending a 16-year-long ruling of the late Hugo Chavez's failed government.
If the opposition party wins the election and takes control of the National Assembly, they would have the power to eventually remove Maduro from power next year.
A date has not been set for elections as of yet.
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