Will Venezuela be able to hold transparent presidential elections in 2024?

Maria Corina Machado became the leader of the opposition movement to the regime of Nicholas Maduroin Venezuelaafter the primaries held this Sunday, October 22.

Via a United platform for democracyVenezuela’s opposition parties organized an electoral process and elected a representative to oppose the ruling party. Machado was elected with approximately 1.5 million votes.

The former deputy will meet Maduro in the 2024 presidential electionas long as you can register your candidacy in the Venezuelan National Electoral Council. Machado is Disqualified from holding public office until 2030a sanction for which it has shown that it has no legal basis.

Jefferson Diaza Venezuelan journalist living in Ecuador explains that there is a process of negotiations between the opposition, the Maduro regime and also international actors to enable Machado to register his candidacy.

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“Several government spokespeople, including Nicolás Maduro, indicated this They will not allow disqualified candidates to register.. They know that María Corina Machado receives popular supportthe votes to become president of Venezuela,” Díaz said in an interview on the program Monkey Lopezbroadcast by Radio City (89.3FM in Guayaquil).

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According to the journalist There is no confidence that the Maduro regime will allow a fair and transparent electoral process in 2024..

“The government of Nicolás Maduro knows that they will lose if they go to truly democratic, truly transparent elections, with international observation, without the military intimidating the voters,” he assured.

The disqualification of María Corina Machado

The current representative of the opposition is confronted allegations of corruption and conspiracyfor which she was disqualified from holding public office from 2015 to 2030. She rejects the allegations and states that there was no legal process to determine his guilt.

“Machado has been working politically against Chavismo for years. She was one of the few opposition leaders to directly confront (Hugo) Chávez, eye in eye. If you were to do this in Venezuela, it would have deplorable consequences,” Díaz said.

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He confirmed that his disqualification was not through the legal mechanisms put in place by law to disqualify someone politically, as there was no regular punishment.

Furthermore, the person who ratified Machado’s disqualification Elvis Hydrobo, is also the chairman of the National Electoral Council of Venezuela. Hidrobo is nicknamed “elimination of opponents”, because of the way restricts political actors seeking to hold popularly elected positions who are against Chavismo.

InVenezuela”There is no rule of law; authoritarianism controls the entire structure of the state”, the journalist described. Venezuelans are already “accustomed to being skeptical of the regime” of Maduro.

However, Díaz believes that there is still a democratic will in Venezuela to elect leaders through voting, and he hopes this will become a reality in 2024. (JO)