The Venezuelan government asked electoral authorities Tuesday to ban the opposition coalition seeking to oust President Nicolas Maduro in a recall vote, accusing them of massive fraud.

Ratcheting up the tension in a country pushed to the brink of collapse by an economic crisis, Maduro's camp hit back with a vengeance on the same day the opposition was hoping to get a green light to go ahead with its bid to hold a recall referendum.

"We have just asked for the cancellation of the registration of the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), for being involved in the worst vote fraud in the country's history," said Jorge Rodriguez, Maduro's designated aide to monitor the recall process.

He accused the opposition of including the names of thousands of dead people, convicts and minors in a petition submitted in May with 1.8 million signatures requesting a recall vote.

The opposition has denied such charges, accusing the authorities of stalling....