Wives of jailed mayors win big Venezuela vote
The wives of two jailed Venezuelan opposition mayors won big in special elections Sunday to replace their husbands in office.
Patricia de Ceballos was elected mayor in the western town of San Cristobal, replacing her jailed husband Daniel Ceballos and crushing the candidate supported by President Nicolas Maduro 73 to 26 percent, according to election officials.
San Cristobal, the capital of Tachira state, was the first place where widespread protests against the leftist Maduro government broke out in early February.
In the northern town of San Diego, Rosa de Scarano - wife of jailed former mayor Enzo Scarano - buried her pro-government rival 88 to 12 percent, according to official figures.
Ceballos and Scarano were sentenced to prison terms of one year and ten months respectively in March for their alleged roles in starting violent anti-government protests.
Both men had been elected to office in December 2013.
Since both cities are hotbeds of anti-Maduro sentiment opposition victories were expected, and the Venezuelan media paid more attention to Sunday's presidential elections in neighboring Colombia.
The outcome is not a bellwether of how the country feels about the Maduro government, analyst Carlos Casanova warned AFP.
The opposition however trumpeted the victory as just that.
"What a defeat for Nicolas and his government! Good defeats evil!" crowed opposition leader Henrique Capriles on Twitter.
Capriles, representing the united opposition, lost the 2012 presidential election to the late Hugo Chavez, then lost to Maduro by a razor-thin margin the following year after Chavez died.
Street celebrations broke out in San Cristobal and San Diego, with rallies, fireworks and drivers honking their car horns.
Maduro said he would respect the outcome, but warned against disturbances.
"If they go crazy and start burning the town halls again, the authorities will act," he said.
If necessary, he said that he would kick out the new mayors and hold elections again "until there is peace".
At least 42 people have been killed in more than three months of protests across Venezuela that the government has tried to suppress with force and mass arrests.
Protesters have rallied against rampant crime, runaway inflation and shortages of basic goods.
- Sapa