VENEZUELA: Country Set To Rewrite Constitution Despite Opposition Boycott

(RTTNews) - The Venezuelan government will install a Constituent Assembly elected Sunday to rewrite the country's constitution despite a massive boycott to the polls by the opposition.

More than eight million Venezuelans took part in Sunday's National Constituent Assembly (ANC) vote, convened by the Nicol?s Maduro's government. Voters' participation reached around 41% of more than 19 million Venezuelans able to vote, said the president of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Tibisay Lucena.

The election day was also marred by violence, with more than a dozen dead.

In the vote, 545 representatives were elected to the Constituent Assembly, which will start working within 72 hours after the proclamation of the elected deputies, according to the Venezuelan News Agency.

"The balance is highly positive because peace won, Venezuela won. Despite the violence, despite the threats, Venezuelans were able to express themselves," said Lucena while announcing the vote first figures.

In the Venezuelan streets, however, the electoral process was marked by opposition protests that extended throughout the weekend and resulted in the death of 16 people, according to the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict (OVCS).

The country's public prosecutor's office said that it would investigate the violence. Also, 96 people were detained in various parts of the country.

The Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict (OVCS) said that there were demonstrations in 22 states in the country. According to OVCS, only in two states there were no violent acts or anti-government protests.

The Venezuelan opposition said that it would march today against the violence reported during the demonstrations. Freddy Guevara, the first vice-president of the National Assembly (controlled by the opposition), urged citizens to protest today and attend a rally in Caracas.

More than ten countries of the region, among them Argentina, Colombia, and Peru, said that would not recognize the electoral results. The United States and the European Union called the vote "illegal."