Can the Venezuelans be convinced to return to the poll in an election that President Nicolas Maduro claims to be damaged by allegations of violence and fraud?
The issue of voter participation is the least notable as sanctions hit Caribbean countries return to polls, electing new parliament and 24 governors.
The main opposition, led by engineer and former MP Maria Corina Machado, urged Venezuelans not to legalize what they believe is another fake election.
A small opposition led by two-time former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles rejected the boycott call, believing that former voter holders were just allowing Maduro, 62, to expand his power.
Caprier, who runs for parliament, said: “We must act as an act of resistance, an act of struggle.”
– “Combat dictatorship” –
Tensions in the election campaign are high.
More than 400,000 security personnel were deployed to monitor the vote.
Juan Pablo Guanipa, a main opposition member of Machado and close ally, was arrested on Friday on charges of leading a “terrorist network” program to attack the vote on Sunday.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello linked former MP Guanipa to Guanipa who was arrested earlier this week for allegedly serving as a mercenary in a foreign power.
Venezuela often accused foreign-backed coups, saying the suspects entered the country from Colombia and closed their busy borders with their neighbors until after the election.
Guanipa is just the latest opposition leader targeted by the authorities.
Opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia was placed on his head last year and went to Spain to exile.
Shortly after his arrest, a message from Guanipa’s X account announced that he was “kidnapped by troops from the Nicolas Maduro regime” but would continue to “fight against the dictatorial regime for a long time.”
– US hits on oil revenues –
Many opposition supporters in Venezuela have lost the remaining faith in the election process after July’s presidential election.
Maduro claimed he won his third term without producing detailed results to support his claim.
The opposition published its own polling results, which seemed to show a convincing victory for Gonzalez Urrutia.
The deadly crackdown on protests that erupted in Maduro has cemented Venezuela’s untouchable status on the world stage.
Only a few countries, including long-time allies Russia and Cuba, view Maduro as the country’s legitimate leader.
Sunday’s election was with the country’s economy – once a Latin American jealousy, now in trash after years of mismanagement and sanctions – facing further turmoil.
U.S. President Donald Trump has deprived Maduro of its last lifeline by revoking permission from oil giant Chevron to continue pumping Venezuelan crude oil.
Washington also revoked deportation protections for 350,000 Venezuelan immigrants in the United States and deported hundreds of others to the brutal prisons of gangsters in El Salvador.
The pressure failed to affect Maduro, who continued to compete with his neighbors against the world and crystals.
On Sunday, Venezuela will hold elections for parliament and state governors in a disputed oil-rich region bordering Guyana.
Guyana has managed the region for decades, but Caracas threatens to partially annex it.
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