Venezuela votes to determine public support for Maduro's plan to rewrite Constitution
POLITICS
By Zhu Mei

2017-07-17 13:48 GMT+8

14416km to Beijing

Venezuelans lined up Sunday to take part in the National Constituent Assembly's test run vote to determine public support for President Nicolas Maduro's plan to rewrite the Constitution, according to Reuters.

The test run received an unexpectedly high turnout. "I have never seen a situation where opening times for a practice run of an election have to be extended," said Hector Rodriguez, head of the Zamora constituent campaign, at a press conference.

An opposition-organized vote also began on Sunday. More than 7 million Venezuelans voted in this unofficial referendum to heap pressure on President Maduro and repudiate his plan to rewrite the nation's constitution.

The National Electoral Council has refused to authorize the opposition vote and the outcome is not binding.

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