Time Runs Out for Venezuela's Opposition

Time Runs Out for Venezuela's Opposition
Deadline for altering election lists expires amid pockets of disunity

By Jeremy Morgan
Latin American Herald Tribune

CARACAS -- Time ran out for opposition candidates to sort out their differences over who should run in this month's regional elections as the deadline for altering electoral lists and nominations expired when the sun went down on Wednesday evening.

The deadline fell with several disputes over who should stand for the opposition still unresolved, not least over the nomination for governor in the states of Yaracuy, Bolívar and Monagas, as well as a flock of contested mayoral nominations across the country.

Although the opposition was under the gun, rival contenders continued to dig in their heels in some constituencies, claiming that opinion polls showed they had a better chance of beating pro-government candidates in the vote on November 23.


In west Caracas, Stalin González, a student leader who emerged during the campaign against President Hugo Chávez' failed bid to reform the Constitution last year, urged his rival, Claudio Fermín, to "reflect and demonstrate that he's truly with unity." There was no immediate response from Fermín.

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