Venezuelan President launches constitution overhaul as unrest spreads

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro formally launched moves to rewrite the country’s constitution on Tuesday, defying opponents who accuse him of clinging to power in a political crisis that has prompted unrest.

In an apparent bid to show the government was seeking a democratic solution to an economic meltdown that has left many Venezuelans scrabbling to afford three meals a day, Maduro signed a document formally establishing the terms for electing members of a "constituent assembly" that will be tasked with drafting a new constitution.

Elections to the new assembly will take place at the end of July, the National Electoral Council president Tibisay Lucena later said in a televised statement.

He added gubernatorial elections pending since last December would take place on 10 December this year.

The opposition reacted with fury, with the opposition-controlled National Assembly promptly rejecting Maduro's plan.

"The Venezuelan people do not want a fraudulent Madurist constitution and we will not accept it," opposition leader Henrique Capriles tweeted.

Maduro's rivals fear that a new constituent assembly could rewrite rules or exclude opposition parties, making a sham of future elections that would likely vanquish the ruling socialists if the polls were free and fair.

"Today's decision is nothing more than an evil announcement meant to divide, distract, and confuse Venezuelans further," said Congress president Julio Borges, the opposition leader whose coalition is pushing for early elections, humanitarian aid to alleviate food and medicine shortages, and freedom for jailed activists.

A Supreme Court magistrate decried the planned assembly, saying it was "not the solution to the crisis" and called on Maduro to "think carefully" to avoid more bloodshed.

Violence has appeared to intensify in recent days with daily opposition marches calling for early elections. Up to 55 people have been killed during unrest in the past two months.