Venezuelans gather signatures against Maduro

[Zorro]

Hard-line opponents of President Nicolas Maduro began collecting signatures Saturday seeking to force a constitutional assembly and remove the socialist leader before presidential elections in 2019.

Analysts consider the petition campaign launched in Caracas by the Popular Will party led by jailed activist Leopoldo Lopez to be a long shot.

Gathering and verifying signatures from 15 percent of registered voters, or nearly 3 million people, would be a logistical nightmare in any country. But in deeply polarized Venezuela, where loyalists dominate government institutions and the courts, opponents of Maduro fear the National Electoral Council would find a way to invalidate signatures and expose them to retaliation.

Many Venezuelans still recall the fallout from a 2004 recall referendum that tried to force the resignation of then-President Hugo Chavez. A pro-government lawmaker published on the Internet the list of more than 2 million voters who signed the petition, and hundreds of opponents said they lost access to government jobs and services as a result.

http://news.yahoo.com/venezuelans-gather-signatures-against-maduro-182454647.html

[Bacchus4.0]

1. I hope they can get rid of this corrupt inept government. I think the next election is the best

time though. Having another chavista like Cabello or some other idiot isn't going to help the country move past the horrible fascist chavista era.