Venezuelan regional elections, 2017
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| Turnout | 61.14% 
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_2017.svg)
Red denotes states won by the Great Patriotic Pole. Blue denotes those won by the Coalition for Democratic Unity.
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Regional elections were held in Venezuela on 15 October 2017 to elect state governors and state legislators. The two main participants were the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) opposition coalition and the Great Patriotic Pole (GPP) alliance of the ruling Bolivarian government. The election resulted in a victory for the ruling GPP, which won the majority of governorships.
Controversy arose surrounding on whether the election would be held or not since the government-leaning National Electoral Council (CNE) had not determined a date only two months ahead of the expected election date in December 2016, with some believing that this is due to the belief that if elections were held, the ruling party, United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), would suffer one of its largest losses in over a decade.
On 18 October 2016, head of the CNE, Tibisay Lucena, stated that regional elections would not be held until mid-2017, stating the delay was due to a so-called "economic war" and low oil prices. Government sources stated that the true reason of the delay was the hope that higher oil prices may raise the popularity of the PSUV.
Lucena finally announced on 23 May 2017 that elections were to be held on 10 December 2017. However, during the 5th session of the 2017 Constituent Assembly of Venezuela, it was later suggested to move ahead the elections into October 2017. A month before the elections, 15 October 2017 was selected as the date for regional elections.
Three days before elections, the Bolivarian government-led CNE changed hundreds of voting locations affecting over 700,000 voters in areas that were predominately opposition citing security reasons, though opposition members believe the move was to cause confusion and prevent voter participation.
The CNE had refused to remove MUD politicians who had lost primaries before the election from boards that voter would choose from. Venezuelans seeking to vote for an opposition candidate had the possibility of voting for an ineligible candidate out of confusion.
Election ink was not used like in previous elections.In several polling stations, power outrages and failing voter machines led to longer than expected wait times for voters. Due to the relocation of voting centers by the government, some middle class Venezuelans who usually support the opposition were forced to vote in poor communities filled with crime, deterring voter participation in some cases.
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Wikipedia