Thousands line up to support recall of Venezuela president

People line up to check for their signatures at data center outside of the Venezuelan National Electoral Council, CNE, headquarters, in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, June 20, 2016. After checking for their signatures outside they enter to certify the authenticity of their signatures inside the CNE. Venezuela starts a crucial stage in the possible recall referendum against President Nicolas Maduro with the validation of 1.3 million signatures supporting the referendum. AP

CARACAS, Venezuela — Thousands of Venezuelans across the country are once again standing in long lines, only this time it’s not to wait for food but to voice their anger with President Nicolas Maduro.

Venezuelans hoping to kick the socialist leader out of office turned out Monday for the beginning of a five-day process of validating signatures on a petition calling for a recall referendum.

Opposition leaders have collected over 1 million signatures backing Maduro’s ouster, far more than the 200,000 required to move to the next step of the byzantine recall process.

People waiting to have their fingerprints scanned and their signatures authenticated said say they were glad to do their part to throw out the unpopular president. However many were skeptical that the government will actually let the recall proceed.

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