When Venezuelans vote in their presidential election later this month, they will find it easy to spot incumbent Nicolas Maduro on the ballot. His name and photo is the first one in the first row—as well as the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth, reports the New York Times. Maduro, in fact, takes up the entire first row, while his opponents appear below him in far fewer positions, per the AP. That includes Edmundo Gonzalez, the only rival seen as having a legitimate chance of denying the strongman Maduro another six-year term.
"We haven't seen anything similar to this," Staffan Darnolf of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems tells the Times of the unusual ballot. It's all technically legal, though Maduro's critics say he has gamed the system. Rules stipulate that the party that won the last election gets first position on the ballot, along with any allied parties. Among other things, Maduro is accused of using his sway to replace the leaders of smaller parties with those who support him. The AP, for example, notes that a court loyal to Maduro suspended the leadership of the opposition Democratic Action (AD) party, and its candidate is not backing the main opposition candidate—Gonzalez.
"This is confusing," says Venezuelan office worker Sonia Guevara. "I have had to explain to my mother many times that the AD on the card is not the AD she always votes for," she says. "My mom is 71 years old, and I tell her not to vote for AD this time." The election is July 28. (More Nicolas Maduro stories.)