CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) – Venezuela’s opposition learns Tuesday whether it can proceed with efforts to force a recall vote against President Nicolas Maduro, amid a dire economic crisis that is fueling warnings of unrest.

The National Electoral Council (CNE) is due to announce whether it has validated the 200,000 voter signatures needed to activate the next step in the process of removing the unpopular leftist leader.

The opposition decries the CNE as beholden to Maduro, but is hoping pressure from Venezuelans fed up with food shortages and mounting chaos will force the authorities to let the recall process move ahead.

If the CNE gives the green light, the opposition will then have to collect another four million signatures.

That would then force a recall referendum, in which Maduro’s opponents would need more votes than he won with in 2013 — around 7.5 million.

It is a lengthy bureaucratic tightrope, and the opposition is racing to get across it by January 10, the cutoff to trigger new elections.

After that date — four years into the president’s six-year term — a successful recall vote would simply transfer power to Maduro’s hand-picked vice president.

The opposition submitted 1.8 million signatures calling for Maduro to face a recall vote, 1.3 million of which were accepted by the CNE.

Signatories then had to show up at electoral offices last month to give their fingerprints and validate their identity, braving long lines and sweltering heat.

Opposition leaders said 326,000 signatories had been fingerprinted across the country during the five-day process — well over the 200,000 needed.

The opposition coalition, the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), warns that Venezuela could explode into violence if the authorities refuse to allow a recall vote.

“Make way for peace,” MUD executive secretary Jesus Torrealba urged electoral authorities at a press conference.

“Don’t be part of the violent strategy of blocking the electoral exit.”