CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro finished giving their fingerprints to electoral authorities Friday to wrap up a key stage in their drive for a referendum to remove him.

Already used to queuing for hours to buy food in an economic crisis, this week they lined up at electoral offices for a sometime frustrating process.

Officials were taking their electronic fingerprints to authenticate signatures on a petition calling for a recall referendum. That is just one stage in a months-long bureaucratic procedure.

One voter in the northern city of Maracay, civil servant Felix Rodriguez, skipped work to come and give his signature.

He has no flour, milk or meat in his kitchen. His old truck is broken down and there are no spare parts available.

“Prices are going up every day, on top of the shortages,” he said. “Whether you have money or not, you’ve got problems.”

In Maracay the electoral office opened late, due to electricity cuts.

The queue stretched for several blocks in the 30-degree Celsius heat. Rodriguez had to rush back to the office.

“I took a risk by leaving work,” he explained. In the end, he said angrily, “I won’t be able to validate my signature.”