CARACAS: Venezuelans waited in line at polling stations and cast ballots on Sunday in the most consequential election in a quarter-century of socialist party rule, with President Nicolas Maduro confident of victory even as the opposition has attracted impassioned support and warned of possible irregularities.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has been the star of the coalition campaign, despite a ban on her holding public office that forced her to pass the torch to candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, a 74-year-old ex-diplomat known for his calm demeanor.
Gonzalez has won backing even from some former supporters of the ruling party, but the opposition and observers have questioned whether the vote will be fair, saying decisions by electoral authorities and the arrests of opposition staff are meant to create obstacles.
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