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Venezuela's Draft Constitution to Be Put to Referendum

© REUTERS / Miraflores PalaceVenezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a meeting with businessmen in Caracas, Venezuela January 9, 2017
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a meeting with businessmen in Caracas, Venezuela January 9, 2017 - Sputnik International
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Maduro announced that the country's draft constitution would be put to referendum.

Demonstrators run away from tear gas during clashes with police while rallying against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, April 20, 2017. - Sputnik International
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MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) — Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro announced Thursday he would put the nation’s draft constitution to a referendum after it is adopted by a new constituent assembly.

President Maduro said last month he was going to convene a special assembly with a power to rewrite the constitution as a way out of the deepening political crisis that gripped the country in early April.

"A consultative referendum will be held on the new, revised constitution to let the people decide whether they want it or not," he said in a televised address.

The Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE) will hold elections to the National Constituent Assembly in late July, with regional elections scheduled for December.

Maduro’s controversial announcement sparked further protests by opposition who accuse his government of mismanaging the oil-rich country. Unrest first broke out after Venezuela’s top court briefly took over legislative powers from the opposition-controlled National Assembly.

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