MIAMI — The members of the group Freedom and Democracy expressed great concern about the calling of elections in Venezuela scheduled by the National Electoral Council (CNE), for July 28, coinciding with the date of birth of the late Hugo Chávez.
“We see with great concern the atrabiliary behavior of the dictator of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, calling for elections on July 28, the birthday of Hugo Chávez, and cutting off political figures such as María Corina Machado, who obtained more than 92% in the votes of the month of October 2023, despite all the obstructions of the regime, can participate in those elections with full guarantees,” the group of former presidents said in a statement.
Likewise, they reject the arbitrary behavior of Maduro, and denounce the exclusion in the electoral process of the leader and opposition candidate María Corina Machado, who was politically disqualified for 15 years by Elvis Amoroso, who held the position of comptroller general at the time and Today he is the main rector of the Venezuelan electoral body CNE related to the Chavista regime.
At the same time, they call on the international community not to recognize the process called by the Nicolás Maduro regime for the Venezuelan presidential elections, to pressure in favor of the return of democracy in Venezuela and demand compliance with the “Barbados Agreements.” signed between the regime and representatives of the opposition.
“We call for all pressure to be exerted by the international community to guarantee the return of democracy to Venezuela, and to demand from multilateral organizations compliance with the “Barbados Agreements”, where We also call on the United States government to reimpose all sanctions on the regime that has clearly violated the agreements,” the statement reads.
“In the face of the lack of respect for democratic principles, human rights abuses and political repression”, the Freedom and Democracy Group raises its voice in favor of democratic and free elections in Venezuela.
They also warn that recognizing the July 28 process and its results would be supporting oppression, which is why they urge not to validate such manipulation.
“Allowing the abuses and non-compliance of the dictatorship to be imposed on the people of Venezuela would constitute the triumph of oppression and, therefore, it is necessary not to recognize either the process called for July 28, or the results that emerge. of that manipulation,” they emphasized.
Source: Freedom and Democracy Group Statement
