Caracas (AFP) - Analysts were expecting a record low voter turnout Sunday in Venezuela's municipal council elections, a vote in which opposition parties were banned from participating.
The elections come one month before President Nicolas Maduro begins his second term (2019-2025) in office after winning an election in May considered illegitimate by the political opposition and unrecognised by the European Union, the United States and most of Latin America.
Maduro's ruling socialists are hoping to strengthen their grip on the 335 municipal councils, one quarter of which are controlled by the opposition.
Pro-government candidates "will capture the majority of the municipal chambers with a historic level of voter abstention," predicted Felix Seijas, head of Delphos pollsters.
A government victory seems so certain that there have been hardly any political paid campaign ads. The campaign was waged "on WhatsApp, with neighborhood meetings and corner leafleting", Seijas said.
The election takes place as Venezuela's economy spirals out of control, with a dearth of household goods, food and medicine, and an eye-popping 1.35 million percent inflation rate, according to the International Monetary Fund.
"Why vote if they've already won it all?" asked hairdresser Leidy Sivira, 30, a Caracas resident.
Since 2015 at least 2.3 million Venezuelans have voted with their feet by leaving the country, according to United Nations figures.
The socialists have been power since Maduro's predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez, took office in 1999.
