Venezuela Sets Date for Constituent Assembly Campaigns

The electoral campaign to choose the 545 members of the National Constituent Assembly, which was convened by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, will be held on July 9th, the President of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Tibisay Lucena announced Wednesday in Caracas.
 
The campaign phase will last a total of 19 days, until midnight on July 27th, with the elections being scheduled for July 30th.
 
The National Constituent Assembly will be comprised of 364 territorial constituencies, 181 sectorial constituencies, and eight indigenous.
 
The represented sectors include workers, from which there will be 79 representatives, peasants and fishermen with eight, businesses with five, pensioners with 28, disabled persons with five, students with 24, and communal councils and communes also with 24.
 
The process is intended to allow for massive democratic participation in rewriting the constitution. President Maduro has indicated that it will bring “power to the people,” and create the political space to allow for citizens to confront corruption.
 
The election will take place by a direct and secret vote.
 
Some opposition groups, most notably the Democratic Unity Table (MUD), have refused participation in the process, which they call “fraudulent,” and have called on supporters to continue street protests.
 
Protests have continued since the beginning of April, and the conflicts have killed over 70.
 
Maduro has urged all Venezuelan citizens to vote and participate in the process in “rain, thunder, or lightning,” and has warned that opponents to the Constituent process will try to “sabotage” the elections.