Venezuelan opposition renews bid to delay vote

Bloomberg

Venezuela’s opposition has renewed private talks with the government in a bid to push back the date of the country’s presidential elections as President Nicolas Maduro’s administration seeks some legitimacy for the vote, according to people familiar with the matter.
Two-time presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, former Governor Henri Falcon and lawmakers from two of Venezuela’s largest opposition parties participated in the talks that are ongoing at the Gran Melia Hotel in Caracas, after the Democratic Unity Roundtable, or MUD, announced it would shun snap elections to protest what they say is an electoral system rigged to favour the ruling socialist party. Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez and head of National Constituent Assembly Delcy Rodriguez are said to have been among representatives from the government, two of the people said.
The latest discussions center on setting a date later than April 22 for presidential elections, changing the leadership of the country’s electoral authority and allowing the presence of international observers, according to three sources with knowledge of the discussions, who aren’t authorized to speak publicly about the private meetings. Earlier talks in the Dominican Republic failed to culminate in an accord which prompted the pro-government electoral council to set the general election date much earlier than the opposition had wanted.
The opposition Popular Will party, which backs a boycott of the election, rejected a new vote date as not enough to “guarantee free and transparent elections.” “Changing the date by one month would not change the lack of necessary electoral guarantees,” Popular Will said in a statement sent via text message.