(VOVworld) – On Monday the Venezuelan government accused the opposition coalition of forging signatures in calling for a mid-term vote of confidence in President Nicolas Maduro.

The opposition gathers 200,000 signatures to call for a referendum to oust President Nicolas Manduro. (Photo: Reuters)

According to Jorge Rodríguez, Mayor of Caracas and head of a signature-verification commission established by Maduro's government, 8,600 petitions were sent to courts to accuse the opposition coalition, known as the MUD, of forging signatures. He said at the hearing at the National Electoral Council that gathering signatures to call for vote of confidence in President Nicolas Maduro has no validity. Rodríguez added that during the signature-verification process, authorities found 10,000 signatures of the dead people, 9,000 signatures of those with no citizenship registration, 3,000 signatures of adolescents, and only 1,300 signatures of eligible individuals.

He confirmed this as the largest forgery case in Venezuelan history, saying the future of Venezuela cannot be built on a false foundation.