CARACAS.- The Venezuelan opposition Maria Corina Machado I affirm that Nicolas Maduro “cannot” choose the opposition candidate for the presidential electionwhich will be held on July 28, and maintained that he has time to present an applicant, despite the “obscene” actions of the regime, in reference to the impossibility of registering his candidacy with the country’s electoral authority.
“We have the reason and the strength. We have the people and a great opportunity. There are only 122 days left. It is not true that they can do whatever they want and impose their terms on us, violating the rules. The Constitution, the Venezuelan laws are very clear “We have up to ten days before July 28 to replace the candidate. And the fight is fighting and now there is time,” Machado declared.
The political leader recalled that she won the Venezuelan opposition primaries at the end of October, becoming official as a “unitary” candidate to confront Chavismo in the presidential elections. “We Venezuelans voted, we spoke clearly. We did it to end an old policy and in favor of change. We gave ourselves a mandate and we are not going to allow them to betray it,” she said.
“They have made even their former allies have had to raise their voices. Maduro cannot choose the candidate who will face him in the presidential election. We are not going to allow that, that would not be elections,” he said through a video recorded and shared through his profile on the social network X.
Likewise, Machado insisted to his supporters that they must “remain with firmness and hope”, faithful to his candidacy. “History will be implacable with those who betray it,” he stated and reflected that “we have had very great falls, defeats and losses. But this, far from dividing us, weakening us, has united us as a society, as a nation, and we have found ourselves in the truth.” , and it is the truth that will set us free.”
Last week Machado, who was disqualified from holding public office for fifteen years, which prevented him from running for elections before the National Electoral Council (CNE), announced his retirement and introduced Corina Yoris, who was a member of the Commission National Primary School (CNP), as its substitute. However, the deadline to submit applications expired without Yoris being able to register due to alleged technical problems with the automated platform, according to electoral authorities.
However, Yoris stated that the reason she could not register was that upon being appointed by Machado, “they should have hindered me”In reference to boycott that Maduro has made to Machado’s optionwhich he considers a threat ahead of the elections.
Maduro came to power in 2013 and will be the official candidate for the presidential elections next July in which he will seek a third term. Maduro is accused of drug trafficking by the US since March 2020. At that time, Attorney General William Barr offered a reward of $15 million for information leading to the arrest of the ruler of Venezuela. Besides, The ICC investigates the Chavista regime for crimes against humanity committed during the waves of citizen protests in 2014 and 2017 in which protesters were victims of repression in the streets.
Likewise, more than 100 officials of the regime, including several senior officials such as Diosdado Cabello, Tarek El Aissami, Delcy Rodríguez, Tarek William Saab, Elvis Amoroso, Vladimir Padrino, among others, have been sanctioned by the US, the European Union (EU). and Canada. Some of them are suspected of drug trafficking.
Seeing that the registration of Machado and then that of Yoris was impossible, the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD)the largest opposition alliance, provisionally nominated diplomat Edmundo Gonzáez Urrutia, who must be replaced by another option that has more strength within the coalition.
Source: With information from Europa Press
