Venezuelans conduct voting drill

Venezuelan voters and poll workers turned out on Sunday to conduct a simulated vote in preparation for the upcoming regional and municipal elections scheduled for November in which the US-backed opposition was expected to compete.

The opposition parties grouped in the so-called "Unitary Platform" and led by Juan Guaidó boycotted previous elections, including the re-election of Nicolas Maduro as president in May 2018, arguing that Venezuela lacked the conditions for free and just contests.

The regional and municipal elections are scheduled for Nov. 21. Voters went through the motions of checking posted lists to find their assigned polling booths and pressing their thumbs into ink used for voter identification. Some 446 voting centers nationwide were open for the drill.