Thousands of Venezuelans vote, hopeful of a change of president in 2024

Thousands of Venezuelans They voted this Sunday in the opposition primaries with the hope of a change of president in 2024, a long career that citizens who oppose the chavismo They took it on with enthusiasm, enduring hours in the sun or the rain, with the firm intention of voting.

One of those voters was Hernán Lugo, a 70-year-old university professor who said he was surprised by the large participation registered, for which he had to wait an hour in line, triple the time that, he assured, it always takes him when he goes to the polls. urns.

“The system is fast, faster than the others, what happens is that now there are more people, people who have anguish, who feel that they want to get out of this man (the president Nicolas Maduro), of the system we have”the septuagenarian told EFE, after casting his ballot in the east of Caracas.

The teacher, who says he was injured during anti-government protests in previous years, is convinced that Venezuela, under the power of Chavismo since 1999, will achieve political change in 2024 because “this government can’t take it anymore” and their representatives “they know they are liquidated.”

Furthermore, Lugo considers that the disqualifications issued by the Comptroller General’s Office against several opponents, including the favorite of the race, María Corina Machado, are a measure “outside the norm” that seeks to “take out of the game” to those who dispute power with the head of state.

“Dictators only do it when they get people who they know are above them, who know they are going to beat them”he stressed.

With a similar opinion, Elizabeth Uribe, 57, defends the candidacy of Machado, who will not be able to register for the presidential elections unless her disqualification is lifted, since she believes that citizens, and not institutions, should be able to elect their candidates.

“It is we, Venezuelans, who have to choose the president”stressed the woman, who voted in the west of the Venezuelan capital, in a public place that Chavismo considers its territory and where thousands of people came today to act against it.

He also pointed out that the country needs a change that brings “freedom for Venezuelans.”

Although she did not participate in the 2018 presidential elections, in which Maduro was re-elected with the lowest turnout in this type of election, she is determined to support whoever is elected today in the voting in the second half of 2024.

The primaries, a self-managed process without help from the electoral body, have used thousands of people who, as volunteers, work at the voting tables and helping Venezuelans locate the enabled points, since they do not have the usual centers.

In view of the turnout recorded by EFE in several centers in Caracas, it can be expected that the vote will extend several hours beyond the initial scheduled closing time, 4:00 p.m. local (8:00 p.m. GMT), and, consequently, it will be delayed. the first bulletin with preliminary results.