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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Giles Snyder.
Polls are opening this hour in Venezuela,
where voters are electing governors and a new Congress today.
But as reporter John Otis reports.
It's unclear whether many Venezuelans will turn out.
Up for grabs are 285 seats to the National Assembly and 24 state houses.
They include a controversial new position, governor of Ezequibo.
That's an oil-rich region of neighboring Guyana that Venezuela's authoritarian leader,
Nicolás Maduro, has threatened to annex.
The opposition is divided over what to do.
Its leader, María Corina Machado,
points to evidence that Maduro stole last year's presidential election and claims voting today would legitimize his power grab.
In a video posted on X, she said, this isn't an election, it's a farce.
That's why on Sunday, I'm asking you to stay home.