Venezuela votes in regional election under international eye

By REGINA GARCIA CANO
Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelans have cast ballots for thousands of local races under the scrutiny of international observers in an election that for the first time in four years included major opposition participation. The decision to participate in Sunday’s election divided the already fractured bloc adversarial to President Nicolás Maduro. More than 130 international monitors, mostly from the European Union, fanned out across the South American nation to take note of electoral conditions such as fairness, media access, campaign activities and disqualification of candidates. Their presence was among a series of moves meant to build confidence in Venezuela’s long-tarnished electoral system, turnout was still low.