Reuters: Protests mar Venezuela ballot as voters snub Maduro assembly
CARACAS/SAN CRISTOBAL, Venezuela, (Reuters) - Protesters clashed with security forces on Sunday as Venezuelans broadly boycotted an election for a constitutional super-body that unpopular leftist President Nicolas Maduro vowed would begin a "new era of combat" in the crisis-stricken nation.
Maduro, widely disliked for overseeing an economic collapse during four years in office, has pressed ahead with the vote to create the all-powerful assembly despite the threat of U.S. sanctions and months of opposition protests in which more than 115 people have been killed.
Critics say the assembly will allow Maduro to dissolve the opposition-run Congress, delay future elections and rewrite electoral rules to prevent the socialists from being voted out of power in the once-thriving OPEC nation.
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More News On Today's Assembly vote In Venezuela
The Latest: Turnout appears low in Venezuelan assembly vote -- AP
Venezuelans appear to abstain from government vote -- AP
Venezuelan officials killed as voting starts -- BBC
Police officers injured in Venezuela after explosion at protest: witness -- Reuters
Venezuela to vote on constituent assembly after months of protests -- The Guardian
Maduro holds constituent assembly vote, defies protests -- Al Jazeera
AP Explains: What’s behind Venezuela’s constituent assembly? -- Christine Amario, AP