CARACAS - Opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro finish giving their fingerprints to electoral authorities Friday to wrap up a key stage in their drive for a referendum to remove him.
Venezuelans lining up to authenticate their signatures for a recall referendum before the National Electoral Council (CNE) show their ID cards in Maracay, Venezuela on June 23, 2016
Already used to queuing for hours to buy food in an economic crisis, this week they lined up at electoral offices for a sometime frustrating process.
Officials were taking their electronic fingerprints to authenticate signatures on a petition calling for a recall referendum. That is just one stage in a months-long bureaucratic process.
One voter in the northern city of Maracay, civil servant Felix Rodriguez, skipped off work to come and give his signature.
He has no flour, milk or meat in his kitchen. His old truck is broken down and there are no spare parts available.
"Prices are going up every day, on top of the shortages," he said. "Whether you have money or not, you've got problems."
In Maracay the electoral office opened late, due to electricity cuts.
The queue stretched for several blocks in the 30-degree Celsius heat. Rodriguez had to rush back to work.
"I took a risk by leaving work," he explained. In the end, he said angrily, "I won't be able to validate my signature."
- 1.3 million signatures -
Friday was the fifth and last day of the fingerprinting process, which could make or break the bid to hold a recall vote on Maduro.
The opposition MUD coalition has accused the government of sabotaging the process through delays, obstacles and veiled threats to suspend the process.
Of the 1.3 million signatures recorded by the electoral board in the initial petition, at least 200,000 must be authenticated to pass to the next phase.
Opposition lawmaker Delsa Solorzano said 300,000 fingerprints have already been submitted. These have yet to be validated by the National Electoral Council (CNE).
It said it will do so by July 26.
The next step will require the collection of four million more signatures to call a full referendum.
The opposition is rushing to complete the recall process by January 10, the cutoff date to trigger new elections.
After that date, a successful recall vote would simply pass power to Maduro's hand-picked vice president.
Maduro vowed there will be no referendum this year.
"If there is one, we will go and win it. If there isn't, political life in this country will go on," he said on Thursday.
- 'Economic war' -
Venezuela is grappling with an economic crisis sparked by the plunge in prices for its crucial oil exports.
People face shortages of basic foods and goods as well as electricity blackouts.
Deadly looting erupted last week. Authorities said at least five people were killed and more than 400 arrested.
The opposition says Maduro's economic management is also to blame. They denounce the jailing of his political opponents.
Maduro blames the crisis on an "economic war" by his capitalist rivals.
He has alleged irregularities in the signature process and challenged the referendum bid in the courts.
Waiting in line at a supermarket in Caracas, Ramon Bernay, a retired economist of 64, said he stood by Maduro in spite of the country's problems.
"There will be no referendum this year," he said.
"I wait in line every day and the situation is annoying, but I hold out, because the cause of it is an economic war by the bourgeoisie."