Venezuela Bans Opposition Parties From 2018 Presidential Election

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said the country's main opposition party is barred from participating in next year's presidential election.


He said only parties participating in Sunday's mayoral vote would run for president.

Leaders from the Justice First, Opinion and DAP boycott votes because they say the electoral system is biased.

The Venezuelan president insists that the Venezuelan system is completely trustworthy.

In his speech Sunday, he said the opposition party "has disappeared from the political map."

In October, the three major opposition parties announced that they would boycott Sunday's vote, saying it was just what they called the president's dictatorship.

Venezuela plunged into a deteriorating economic crisis, a shortage of basic goods and a surge in inflation