CARACAS — Venezuelan officials say an effort to recall President Nicolas Maduro will move to the next phase.
Electoral officials on yesterday said that the more than 1 million voters who signed a preliminary petition to recall the embattled president must travel to government offices between June 20 and 24 to validate their signatures.
Opposition leaders turned over the signatures more than a month ago and accused officials of dragging their feet in an effort to stop the recall drive.
They hailed yesterday's announcement, but complained about the process.
Former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles said yesterday that officials had invalidated his signature on the petition, along with others.
After this phase, the opposition will have to collect signatures from 20 percent of voters to trigger a recall election.