Maria Corina Machado urges the Armed Forces to “enforce popular sovereignty”

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado urged the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) to “enforce respect for popular sovereignty” expressed in this Sunday’s presidential elections, in which she claims the candidate of the largest anti-Chavez bloc won, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutiaand not the president Nicolas Maduroas announced by the electoral body.

“The military citizens were there (…) the duty of the National Armed Forces is to respect the popular sovereignty expressed in the vote, and that is what we Venezuelans expect from each of our military personnel,” said Machado, the main supporter of González Urrutia, standard-bearer of the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD).

According to the former deputy, the announcement by the National Electoral Council (CNE), which gives victory to Maduro with 51.2% of the votes, “is impossible”, since, according to the more than 40% of the votes they have received, González Urrutia obtained 70%, while the head of state – indicated Machado – 30%.

The opposition candidate had expressed confidence early Sunday that the FANB would “ensure respect” for the election results.

For his part, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López said that the country is preparing to begin “a new stage” after the elections.

To ensure the security of the process, more than 388,000 members of the FANB and the various State security forces were deployed in the country, which also maintains a temporary “closure” “for the border movement of people, as well as the passage of vehicles” at land accesses with neighboring nations, Colombia and Brazil.