Candidate, 8 Others Feared Dead During Venezuela’s Constitutional Voting

Violence involving opposition protesters erupted during election for a new legislative body in Venezuela, claiming the lives of no less than nine people including an election candidate.

The deaths from the violence which erupted during the protests include the shootings at demonstrators which killed a 13-year-old and a 17-year-old in the western state of Tachira.

A soldier was also shot dead there. Also killed was a 30-year-old regional leader of a youth opposition party in the northeast town of Cumana, and two protesters in the western state of Merida.

According to reports, scores of Venezuela’s opposition party members boycotted the election to vote in an all-powerful new legislative body tasked with reforming the constitution, claiming the election was geared towards elongating the powers of President Nicolas Maduro.

Two weeks ago, an unofficial referendum held by opposition in Venezuela to protest Maduro’s plans to rewrite the constitution turned bloody when gunmen attacked a polling station killing two people.

In the last two months, no less than 61 people have lost their lives in the often violent protests as adversaries of Maduro have been blocking highways and setting up barricades in protests over increasingly severe economic crisis that has left millions struggling to get enough to eat.