CARACAS.- The electoral participation of Venezuelans abroad for the elections presidential elections on July 28 will be notably limited, with only 69,211 people qualified to vote according to the latest electoral register. This figure is especially striking given the size of the Venezuelan diaspora, which totals almost 8 million citizens, placing Venezuela among the countries with the highest migration globally, along with nations such as Syria.
Although the total number of Venezuelans qualified in the electoral registry amounts to 21,392,464 citizens, participation from abroad represents less than 1%. Of the total registered, 22,144 were removed from the registry for reasons such as death or disqualification.
As pointed out The Nationaldata from Venezuelan Electoral Observatory (OEV) They specify that around four million Venezuelans abroad have the right to vote, but the effective number of voters outside the country is significantly smaller.
Spain leads the list of countries with the highest Venezuelan electoral participation, with a total of 24,756 citizens registered to vote, followed by Colombia with 7,012 people. Other nations with a significant presence of Venezuelan voters include Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Peru and Great Britain.
He National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela published the electoral registry on June 1, indicating that 604,964 people registered and 847,999 changed their voting location.
However, the experience for some Venezuelans abroad has not been easy, as obstacles to completing registrations have been reported in countries such as Spain, Argentina and Chile, where long lines and complaints of impediments have been seen.
It is important to keep in mind that the number of Venezuelans registered abroad represents a minimal fraction of the total number of migrants registered by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), a figure that the government refutes, arguing that the number of Venezuelans who have left the country is significantly lower.
For these elections, 10 candidates are running, including the dictator Nicolas Maduroand the candidate of the main opposition coalition, Edmund Gonzalez Urrutiaregistered after the opposition leader Maria Corina Machado could not run due to a disqualification that prevents him from running for public office until 2036.
Source: With information from El Nacional
