CARACAS, June 10 (Xinhua) -- More than 55,000 Venezuelans have signed up to compete for seats in the National Constituent Assembly convoked by President Nicolas Maduro to rewrite the country's constitution, the National Electoral Council (CNE) said Saturday.
A total of 55,314 Venezuelans registered by the deadline of Saturday to compete for 545 seats in the assembly, for which elections are set to be held on July 30.
The CNE's National Electoral Board will start to review the applications on Sunday.
The applicants, meanwhile, have until Monday to submit necessary signatures backing their candidacy as representatives of their districts or their social sectors, such as farmers, fishermen, students, business owners, indigenous communities and the disabled, among others.
Those who represent a district must gain support from at least 3 percent of the registered voters in their district, while those who represent a sector must have collected between 500 and 1,000 signatures.
The government said that the new constitution would "guarantee peace and coexistence among all Venezuelans," but the leading opposition coalition, known by its Spanish acronym MUD, has refused to take part in the process.
A total of 67 people have died since anti-government protests resumed in April.
