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Venezuela's socialists hold primaries for parliamentary elections

Xinhua, June 29, 2015 Adjust font size:

Venezuela's ruling socialists held primaries on Sunday ahead of December's parliamentary elections with a massive participation amid economic woes that have caused shortages of basic goods and products.

Hundreds of thousands of members of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and government supporters went to more than 3,900 polling stations nationwide.

In these primaries, 98 candidates will be selected out of 1,162 contenders across the country, while the other 67 candidates will be selected by the national leadership of the political organization.

"Today we have to choose the candidates who will represent us at the National Assembly. If we lose the elections and the opposition wins everything that has been accomplished here will disappear in one stroke," said Edgar Salcedo, a member of the PSUV party.

Among the candidates are former ministers as well as late President Hugo Chavez's brother.

Around 60 percent of the candidates are 35 years old or younger and 50 percent are women, said the government.

President Nicolas Maduro, who is also leader of the PSUV, turned out to vote and stressed that Venezuela's main political force "is making history" with this election.

He added that parliamentary elections in December will show the world that Venezuela lives in "true democracy" and the socialist forces are still the majority.

"There is a lot at stake. This isn't the time for divisions but rather the moment for anti-imperialist, socialist, revolutionary and popular union," he said.

Analysts and polling companies have pointed out in the last few weeks that the opposition coalition has its strongest shot in over a decade at winning the National Assembly elections on Dec. 6.

However, the opposition has struggled to articulate policy proposals, its often wealthy politicians fail to connect with normal Venezuelans, and the 2014 protests that turned violent have tarred its reputation.

In the December elections, 165 deputies will be elected to the National Assembly, which is currently composed of 99 representatives from left-leaning political organizations, mainly the PSUV, and the other 66 from opposition parties. Endi