Venezuela’s opposition cried “dictatorship” on Friday after government officials suspended a constitutionally allowed referendum against President Nicolás Maduro, making it unlikely that the socialist leader’s foes will be able to remove him from power. The government-controlled National Electoral Council suspended the referendum on Thursday night after four provincial courts alleged there had been fraud in the signature drive needed to launch the process. The ruling reverses an August decision by the same council which had validated those same signatures. “There won’t be a referendum, and with the support of our constitution, we won’t allow them to try to cheat our people again,” state governor Francisco Rangel said in a Twitter posting. The suspension of the referendum is likely to complicate further a $5.3bn bond swapthat state-owned energy company PDVSA is trying to close this week but which has struggled to win investor acceptance. PDVSA has warned that if the operation fails, the cash-strapped company might default. “The delay of a political transition would represent the worst-case scenario for bondholders as this shifts the range lower for recovery value,” said Siobhan Morden, an analyst with Nomura Securities.