The vote of about 21 of the 30 million Venezuelans will be split among 10 candidates, but the outcome should be decided between Maduro of Venezuela’s United Socialist Party, who succeeded former president Hugo Chavez, and his successor, retired ambassador Urrutia. The candidate, María Corina Machado, was barred from running for office.
Voting started at 6:00 AM in Lisbon and closed at 6:00 PM in Lisbon.
Opinion polls point to a victory for the opposition. But Maduro has threatened “bloodshed” and civil war if he loses the election.
Despite being an oil-rich country, Venezuela is mired in an unprecedented economic and social crisis.
In a country with a significant community of Portuguese and people of Portuguese descent, people live on low incomes, with scarce and inadequate basic services, deteriorating health and education systems.
International delegations were barred from entering
Representatives of the European People’s Party (PPE) monitoring Venezuela’s presidential elections, including Portuguese MEP Sebastião Bugalho, were first detained at Caracas airport and then expelled from the country on Saturday.
The Portuguese MEP said in RTP that he had not yet received justice from the Venezuelan government.
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