Venezuela Politics: Opposition calls on voters to boycott presidential election

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03:11

Voters in Venezuela will have to decide -- keep the current president, or pick a new one. Nicolas Maduro is seeking re-election this month. But he faces a tough road ahead as he manages the country's economic crisis. And rumors of election rigging have people calling for a boycott. CGTN's Juan Carlos Lamas reports from Caracas.

Venezuela's main opposition parties are having problems gathering more than a few dozen people to take to the streets, singing "people are dying without food, without remedy", those who do show up say none of the leading opposition candidates speak for them because they've been banned from running for office.

LUISANGELA CORREA MESA DE LA UNIDAD DEMOCRATICA SUPPORTER "It is an electoral fraud, the one taking place on May 20th. We do not have a transparent or reliable electoral council and to make things worse, there are no opposition candidates registered in this election."

The opposition coalition Mesa de la Unidad Democratica is holding meetings in neighborhoods across the country -- asking Venezuelans to boycott the election -- telling people it's better NOT to vote.

ALEJANDRO VIVAS PRIMERO JUSTICIA PARTY SUPPORTER "Venezuelans won't have the right to choose because the government has eliminated its rivals. Three million Venezuelans who live abroad won't have the right to vote, and those who will vote, are being blackmailed. They're afraid to lose the government's subsidized food program."

President Nicolas Maduro -- who took office in 2013 after the death of Hugo Chavez -is widely blamed for Venezuela's economic crisis. As difficult as life has been in the last five years, many of his supporters say last year's street protests pushed them even more firmly to Maduro's side.

JOSEFINA ROJAS UNITED SOCIALIST PARTY SUPPORTER "If the Venezuelan opposition was interested a bit more in politics, they would have a chance, but they focus on destroying everything with their protests."

Maduro's main challenger is Henri Falcon, a former military man who broke with the socialists in 2010. He and other candidates are running against Maduro, but none of them has the support of the opposition coalition.

OSWALDO RAMIREZ POLITICAL ANALYST "It's a coalition which takes terrible political decisions. Last year in the midst of anti-government protests, they had the support of millions of Venezuelans, but they did not know what to do with it. Now, they lack leadership at a time when it's needed more."

JUAN CARLOS LAMAS CARACAS "One area where the opposition may succeed in exerting influence in this election --- convincing people already apathetic about the candidates that it's better to stay home than to go to the polls."

And as basic items including food, water, and medicine remain in short supply, the opposition continues to call people to take to the streets, even if it's only a few dozens at a time. Juan Carlos Lamas, CGTN, Caracas.