CARACAS, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelans will go to the polls on Sunday to elect state governors and state legislators in a country with deep divisions between the leftist progressives in power and the conservative opposition looking to retake the reins.
The regional elections were first postponed due to the country's economic crisis and political conflicts, then scheduled for Dec. 10, until the newly-elected National Constituent Assembly (ANC) agreed to move up the vote to Oct. 15.
According to the National Electoral Council (CNE), 18,099,391 eligible voters will be able to elect governors and lawmakers for all 23 states (the capital district of Caracas is not included).
As many as 197 candidates are competing in the gubernatorial races, representing either the coalition of opposition parties, known as the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), or the Great Patriotic Pole (GPP), which gathers the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and allied parties.
More than 30,000 electronic voting machines will be set up at 13,559 voting stations around the country.
More than 143,000 local and state police officers, firefighters and members of civil protection agencies will be deployed to ensure the peace, backed by 260,000 military troops, officials said.
The elections will be closely watched to see whether the PSUV maintains the broad appeal that was evident in the July 30 elections for the ANC, which drew more than 8 million voters, or whether continued economic woes, aggravated by U.S. sanctions, have eroded its support.
