CARACAS — Without it being a surprise, in yet another attempt to ignore the will of the more than two million Venezuelans who chose the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela as their candidate. (PSUV) “proposed” the ruler Nicolás as a candidate for the presidential elections on July 28 Maduro, here in the chavismo He cleared the way for him by keeping opposition leader María Corina Machado disqualified from holding public office.
On January 26, the Political-Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) confirmed the political disqualification against Machado. The leader won, on October 22, 2023, the opposition candidacy of the Unitary Platform for the elections presidential. Machado is considered by Chavismo to be the main obstacle to the permanence of the regime.
In an effort to pretend that it was a “democratic” election that culminated after three days of “assemblies” in different states of the country, the PSUV published this Sunday on the social network “.
The official proclamation of Maduro as a candidate is expected to be on March 15, although he has already thanked his followers for “the support.”
“I thank you for all your expressions of love, all your blessings, all your support and we are going to unite everyone who can be united and summoned from the people to Sunday, July 28,” said the president in an audio also broadcast on X.
Diosdado Cabello, Chavismo’s number two, had indicated on Wednesday that he had “no doubts” that Maduro would be the candidate “by consensus” of the PSUV.
Maduro has been campaigning for weeks and has been increasing his public appearances, something that was unusual, as well as the announcements of supposed social programs that he calls “new generation” and “new public works” in a country plagued by poverty and repression that has caused the exodus of almost 8 million Venezuelans. His campaign is based on the image of the late Hugo Chávez, Maduro’s mentor, who died in still unclear circumstances after a trip to Havana in March 2013.
New opposition candidate?
Although María Corina Machado insists that she will be a candidate, in practice her application currently faces an obstacle. Maduro, to offer the world an image of legitimacy, has sought a supposedly opposition candidate, “tailored to him”, to continue in the presidency. Meanwhile, Cabello has already announced that the current president will remain in power by hook or by crook.
The qualification of candidates has been one of the high points of the dialogues between the regime and the opposition, mediated by Norway.
Non-compliance with the Barbados agreements?
Last October, both parties signed an agreement in Barbados to organize the election with the presence of international observers. But until now the Chavista regime has not fulfilled those agreements.
The opposition hoped that the agreement would allow Machado to run in the elections, but the Venezuelan Supreme Court, which operates under the aegis of the regime, confirmed his “ineligibility” on January 26.
The opposition and the more than two million voters who elected Machado continue to demand that their candidate be qualified; in fact, there are daily demonstrations in different states of the South American nation in support of Machado that confirm this.
The July date announced by the ruling party takes into account the agreement to hold the elections in the second half of 2024, however it puts in check the time for international observation missions to be formed.
The National Electoral Council (CNE), also controlled by the party in power, has sent invitations to the European Union (EU), the UN and the Carter Center to observe the electoral process.
The official nomination of candidates before the CNE will be made between March 21 and 25.
Source: DLA and AFP EDITORIAL
