The
regime of Nicolás Maduro
banned most opposition parties and their candidates from participating in the July 28 elections, which has provoked
a protest reaction
from those affected, including the main candidate María Corina Machado , who condemns the exclusion and assures that nothing and no one will remove it from the electoral route.
In the list of disqualified politicians who cannot register in the elections, the National Electoral Council (CNE), the electoral arm of Chavismo
, included the former governor of Táchira, César Pérez Vivas and Juan Pablo Guanipa of Primero Justicia
for being critical of the regime, in addition to the previous outlaws María Corina and Henrique Capriles.
In its night meeting this Friday, the CNE
eliminated 16 cards from opposition parties
while authorizing 35 formations to nominate candidates, all of them loyal to the Chavista regime.
What formations were banned
According to the electoral issues expert, Eugenio Martínez, the
16 excluded organizations
are: Adelante, Centrados, Única, Suma País;
Citizen Meeting, by Delsa Solórzano;
Emerging People;
Bridge, by Hiram Gaviria;
Movement to Socialism (MAS), Nuvipa, UPP89;
Unión Progreso, by Mercedes Malavé;
Friend;
Procitizens, by Leocenis García;
FDC and those of the member organizations of the Unitary Platform, Convergencia, Movimiento Por Venezuela (MPV), of Simón Calzadilla and Eduardo Fernández.
The CNE only included two opposition organizations in the electoral offer: the MUD (opposition coalition) and UNT (Un Nuevo Tiempo) of the governor of Zulia, Manuel Rosales.
But that is no guarantee that they will be able to participate in the end if the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), the legal arm of Chavismo,
receives orders to eliminate them
, according to Martínez.
Maduro banned most opposition parties and their candidates from participating in the July 28 elections.
Photo: Federico Parra / AFP
Governor Manuel Rosales, who is described as
a puppet of the ruling party
, would have agreed with Maduro to let him participate in the elections.
His somewhat ambiguous attitude is widely rejected by the opposition parties, one day he affirms that he will register and another affirms that he supports María Corina.
In his eagerness to eliminate adversaries in an election that is presented as a farce in order to remain in power, Maduro, who
is running for his third re-election
, has followed in the footsteps of the Russian Vladimir Putin, who has imposed his fifth re-election this weekend in Moscow where he was declared the winner with more than 87% of the votes.
The implementation of the electoral system has received criticism both
inside and outside Venezuela.
Of the
1,500 machines
planned for voter registration and updating, only
about 279 machines
have been installed , which will leave out the majority of the
almost 4 million new voters.
Abroad is where the problems arise
in
registering Venezuelan voters.
Only 120 registration machines will be available in all countries due to the flow of almost
8 million migrants.
To register, they are required to have a work letter, residence card, Venezuelan identity card, and a valid passport.
María Corina protests
This Sunday night, the candidate María Corina Machado, who
won with 92% in the primaries
last October, sent a message to the country on the networks: "Have peace of mind and trust that I will make the right decisions to advance on this path." , with the participation and support of all sectors that want urgent change in Venezuela."
Machado condemned the invalidation of party cards and new arrests of political leaders.
Photo: Federico Parra / AFP
Machado
condemned the invalidation of party cards
and
new arrests
of political leaders and promised that he will make the "correct decisions" for the good of the country.
He warned that if the elections are not free or competitive, but rather Maduro prevails the “bad way,” then he must abide by the “consequences.”
He did not give any clues about what will happen during the registration period for candidates before the CNE,
established between March 21 and 25,
but he assured that
registration will be done against all odds.
Previously a few hours before her message on Sunday, the liberal leader met with the parties of the coalition that supports her the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) in Carabobo, two hours from Caracas,
In the meeting with his allies, some leaders insisted that he clear their doubts and asked him: Who was he going to raise his hand to if he couldn't register?
María Corina responded to them:
I have toured the country and in no town or city do people ask me that question, why are you, the party leadership, the ones who ask it.
Those who had asked and all those present
kept a stony silence.
Then he told them: "The common people trust that I am going to register, why don't you?"
The silence continued and he told them: “Trust me, let's fight so that the government's criminals do not carry out this
illegal disgrace of disqualifications
.”
“The people ask that I be the candidate and our fight, that of the party leadership, has to be what the people ask for, who cannot stand any more betrayals.
If I don't fight to register and raise my hand to any politician of status,
the people will feel that I betrayed
them,” he added.
The silence was total
, it transcended political sources.
“Trust me, I know what I'm going to do, but I'm not going to say it.
What I also know is that I am not going to accept any more betrayals either,” she stated.