Embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro got the shock of his life when he voted on Sunday in the controversial election of a powerful Assembly that will rewrite the country’s constitution.
The socialist president kicked off voting by casting his ballot in a west Caracas polling station.
He got a technological snub when he scanned his ID card at the polling station and the screen spit out the words, “This person does not exist or the ID was canceled.”
The glitch was resolved moments after and he cast his ballot.
“I’m the first voter in the country. I ask God for his blessings so the people can freely exercise their democratic right to vote,” he said.
He was accompanied by his wife, Cilia Flores, a candidate for the new assembly.
Maduro, whose term is meant to end in 2019, describes the election as the most important in Venezuelan history.
The election was largely opposed by the opposition, with bloody protests across the country. No fewer than 10 persons died.
According to polling firm Datanalisis, more than 70 percent of Venezuelans oppose the idea of the new assembly — and 80 percent reject Maduro’s leadership.
“The people are not going to give up the streets until this awful government goes,” protester Carlos Zambrano, 54, told AFP in western Caracas.
Venezuelans also protested in Miami, Madrid and various Latin American cities.
