17 Jul 2017 02:27 AM EST

Venezuela's opposition holds an unofficial referendum on Sunday to increase pressure on President Nicolas Maduro. The president seeks to create a legislative superbody that his adversaries call the consolidation of a dictatorship.The symbolic poll will also ask voters if they want early elections. It is intended to further dent Maduro's legitimacy amid a crippling economic crisis and three months of anti-government protests that have led to nearly 100 deaths.The opposition has cast the vote, which begins at 7 a.m. local time at some 2,000 centers around the country. It is an act of civil disobedience to be followed by "zero hour," a possible reference to a national strike or other escalated actions against Maduro.