Ex-lawmaker María Corina Machado dominates opposition’s presidential primary in Venezuela

By REGINA GARCIA CANO
Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Former Venezuelan lawmaker María Corina Machado, a longtime critic of Venezuela’s government, has dominated the opposition’s presidential primary election, getting more than 1.4 million votes, according to the latest partial results. The organizers of Sunday’s election to choose the opposition’s candidate to challenge President Nicolás Maduro did not declare Machado the winner, but she is far ahead of the nine other candidates. The independent National Primary Commission said Monday that about 65% of the ballots had been tallied, and Machado had nearly 93% of the votes. Her closest competitor had just over 4%. Voters defied repression, censorship and the weather to participate in Sunday’s primary, even in areas once considered strongholds of the governing party.