Venezuela prepares for its most momentous elections in a decade

Venezuela is preparing to hold the most transcendental elections of the last decade in the country on Sunday, in which they will compete for the Presidency ten candidates, among whom the choice will be made between the continuation of Chavismo, in power for 25 years, or a government of the opposite sign.

With just a few hours to go until the opening of the 15,767 polling stations, scheduled for 6:00 local time (10:00 GMT), expectations are growing for an election in which the majority opposition is participating – with Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as standard-bearer – for the first time since the 2015 parliamentary elections, when he won.

In addition to the candidate of the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) – the main anti-Chavez coalition – the current candidate is competing Head of State, Nicolas Madurowho is seeking a third consecutive six-year term in power.

The more than 21 million registered voters will also be able to choose between the evangelical pastor Javier Bertucci, the comedian Benjamín Rausseo, the former mayors Daniel Ceballos and Claudio Fermín, the former councilman Antonio Ecarri, the deputies Luis Eduardo Martínez and José Brito and the former electoral rector Enrique Márquez, the closest to the majority opposition.

Voting abroad

Abroad, 69,211 Venezuelans will be able to participate, a small fraction of the approximately 4 million of voting age and eligible to vote, taken from the more than 7 million who emigrated, according to data from the UN Interagency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants, a figure that the Government reduces to about 2 million.

Migrants will be able to vote in 104 Venezuelan diplomatic and consular representations around the world, the president of the Political Participation and Financing Commission of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Aime Nogal, told EFE on Saturday.

He chavismo and the opposition They repeatedly called on people to vote and to protect and defend each and every vote, which will define, according to the parties, the destiny of the country, which is still in crisis, despite economic improvements in the last three years, which have not managed to stop migration.

The international community, which is home to millions of Venezuelans, is closely watching this process, especially after an electoral campaign – which ended last Thursday – with multiple complaints from the anti-Chavez majority of arrests, obstacles and “threats”, among others.

Several countries in the region expressed their “worry“in this regard, as well as its desire that the electoral process develops peacefully and that the result is respected by the parties.

Security

To ensure the security of the process, more than 388,000 members of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) and various state security forces have been deployed since last Wednesday in the country’s 335 municipalities.

In addition, some 700 officials from the Ombudsman’s Office will verify “the correct functioning” of the voting machines and will ensure that “defense and surveillance” of the human rights of voters, while a total of 1,236 officials from the Prosecutor’s Office will be deployed to prevent, “If that’s the case”, some circumstance “to sully or hinder” the process.

On the other hand, since Friday, the “the closure of the border for the movement of people, as well as the passage of vehicles” at the accesses that connect Venezuela with Colombia and Brazil and a “strict control” in customs and air and sea entries.

The measure came into effect at 00:01 local time on Friday (4:01 GMT) and will last until 8:00 local time (12:00 GMT) next Monday, even though the joint resolution stated that it would be in effect until 23:59 on Monday (3:59 GMT on Tuesday).