María Corina Machado, Venezuelan opponent, pictured October 26 in Caracas. LEONARDO FERNANDEZ VILORIA (Portal)
The pressure exerted by the United States on the government of Nicolás Maduro and the Venezuelan opposition to reach an agreement has produced a concrete result. The Norwegian mediators who supported the latest approach in Barbados have announced that disqualified Venezuelans who want to run as candidates can request a review of their procedures before the political-administrative chamber of the Supreme Court.
What they call “the mechanism,” a way to provide democratic guarantees for the 2024 presidential election, was detailed in a statement released by the Norwegian moderators. Those “interested” can contact the highest judicial authority and submit an application for protection. The procedure indicates that they do not have to make “offensive or disrespectful” public statements towards the institutions.
María Corina Machado, winner of the opposition primaries, Henrique Capriles and Freddy Superlano are some of the politicians against whom Chavismo has imposed these arbitrary sanctions to block their aspirations. Machado was informed of her disqualification just a few months ago, when she was in the process of registering her candidacy for the primary.
The government has not lifted the veto, which was deemed unconstitutional, and has now put the ball in the hands of Machado, who has not yet said whether he will go before the Venezuelan judiciary. The candidate had previously stated that she had not even received an official document certifying her status, but the Supreme Court itself, in a ruling at the end of October, confirmed the impossibility of participation for those disqualified and judicially annulled the pre-election process.
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