Venezuela's opposition presidential primaries start abroad

At 8:00 am Sunday (Australian time) began began in Australia the primaries where the opposition umbrella group Unified Democratic Panel (MUD) is to choose their candidate to the October presidential vote.

Venezuelans residing in big cities like Sydney and Melbourne have already begun to cast their vote, and many have shared their experience through social networks.

This is one of their messagess via Twitter: RT @ cepexaustralia: Voting stations open in Sydney and Melbourne. No setbacks. The first 10 voters at #PrimariasUnidad in the world said yes to #Venezuela.

Similarly, Venezuelans living in Spain began to vote at 10:00 am (local time), specifically in six Spanish cities (Madrid, Valencia, Bilbao, Vigo, Orense and Mallorca). The polls opened a little earlier in the capitals of the Canary Islands, Tenerife, Las Palmas and La Palma, due to the time difference with the mainland.

"Voting in Madrid started normally. People are coming to vote," Virginia Linares, the coordinator in Spain of opposition Primero Justicia (Justice First) party, told Efe.

Some 13,000 Venezuelans living in Spain are entitled to participate in this election, while in Madrid, there are 3,850 enrolled voters.

Five candidates seek to represent the Venezuelan opposition in national elections in October: Pablo Medina, Diego Arria, María Corina Machado, Henrique Capriles and Pablo Pérez.