UN chief “regrets” that elections in Venezuela are “obstructed”

The secretary general of the UN, Antonio Guterres, “regrets any event that may hinder” the presidential electoral process in Venezuela after the arrest of two collaborators of the opposition María Corina Machado, his spokesperson said this Thursday.

Guterres“recalls the need to guarantee the right to vote and to be elected through authentic periodic elections” and reiterates its call for “the agreements” to which Venezuela has committed to be “fulfilled in good faith,” said spokesman Farhan Haq.

The spokesperson referred in particular to the agreement signed in Barbados by the government of President Nicolás Maduro and the opposition to review the disqualification of opposition leaders, in a negotiation mediated by Norway and in which the United States was key.

The day before, Venezuelan authorities linked Machado, who has been disqualified for 15 years from holding any public office, with plans to “destabilizing actions” ahead of the presidential elections on July 28 and arrested two of his closest collaborators.

Despite her disqualification, the leader of the Vente Venezuela formation is the great favorite in the polls that give her up to 72% of acceptance against Maduro, who aspires to a third term.

Vice President Delcy Rodríguez reacted on

“Venezuela will continue its path in defense of democracy, peace and happiness of the people,” he assured.

Seven collaborators of Machado have been arrested in recent days and the Public Ministry has issued another seven arrest warrants, one of which targets Magalli Meda, the former deputy’s right-hand woman and considered as an alternative to be nominated in her place.

The Prosecutor’s Office also requested the arrest of retired general Oswaldo Bracho. The application period for the presidential elections opened this Thursday and will last until next Monday.

They open registration of candidates amid judicial actions against opponents

Amid uncertainty about the candidacy of opposition figure María Corina Machado, who is disqualified from holding public office, the registration process for candidates for the presidential elections on July 28 opened in Venezuela on Thursday.

For now, President Nicolás Maduro is the only candidate who seems to have his presence in the elections guaranteed. The president was proclaimed on March 16 as the candidate of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).

The rest of the candidates, who have until March 25 to register electronically, must wait if their application is accepted by the National Electoral Council (CNE), in charge of organizing national, state and municipal elections in the country. .

The Venezuelan constitution contemplates five powers of the State, including the Electoral Power in which the allies of the ruling party have been the majority for more than two decades.

It is expected that the registration of Machado, winner of the opposition primaries for more than 90% of the votes, will be blocked by the electoral authority’s automated system and it is not clear if the political organizations it represents will have enough time to appeal the decision due to the tight electoral calendar.

Despite Machado’s 15-year disqualification from holding public office, the 56-year-old industrial engineer has not stopped touring the country to promote her candidacy, while the Attorney General’s Office ordered the arrest of several opponents, including her head of campaign and right-hand man, for his alleged links to a conspiracy to destabilize the government.

Machado has promised that he will make the right decision in due time amid pressure from local and international leaders who ask him to formalize his resignation from the candidacy and provide his support for a replacement.

“Everything seems to indicate that there will indeed be a substitution of candidates, that is, there is no other way to face the situation of the presidential election if the opposition does not decide on possible substitutes because only one is chosen and, if he is eventually disqualified, he will be left without “a political option”said political scientist John Magdaleno, director and founder of Polity, a public affairs consultancy. “I think the opposition leadership is aware of this.”

The opposition ““There are several options that can be registered simultaneously with the understanding that one of them would ultimately be the candidate for which the vote would be called.”added the also head of the Venezuelan Society of Political Consultants.

Benigno Alarcón, political scientist and professor at the Andrés Bello Catholic University of Caracas, told that “This is not exactly an election, a formality is being fulfilled to say that an election was held without meeting the minimum conditions that an election must have” free, fair and competitive.

He added that “ev“Identically here, the government’s main concern is to get the opposition candidate who was elected in the primary, María Corina Machado, out of the way and reduce any time to continue the debate on her authorization.”

For years, international observer missions have denounced irregularities that affect the equality of conditions to compete in Venezuela’s electoral processes, such as the disqualification of opposition candidates, the use of State resources in the campaign and unequal access to the media. communication.

With information from AFP and AP

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