Venezuelan opposition calls for boycott of vote viewed as Maduro power grab

Maduro, who is struggling to shore up his regime, predicted a "big victory" in the election of the 545-member citizens' Constituent Assembly empowered to dissolve the opposition-controlled parliament and rewrite the constitution.

But the opposition has urged a boycott, saying the vote was a move towards "dictatorship" by an unpopular president desperate to cling to power with the backing of a loyal military.

The US, the EU and Latin American powers, including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, have come out against the election, saying it would destroy Venezuelan democracy.

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