CARACAS, Venezuela, June 3 (UPI) -- Elections officials in Venezuela canceled a planned meeting to determine if a referendum to oust President Nicholas Maduro can proceed while protesters gathered to decry the country's lack of food.
The country's National Election Council was set to decide Thursday if a petition of 1.85 million signatures, the first step in removing Maduro from office, was valid. The council's meeting with opposition leaders, in control of Venezuela's National Assembly since elections in December, was abruptly and indefinitely canceled.