1:15 p.m
Those expected Venezuela's presidential election will take place on July 28, Hugo Chávez's birthday. with President Nicolás Maduro the natural candidate for re-election and the opposition on the ropes as their main candidate was disqualified.
The board of the National Electoral Council (CNE) announced the date with an official line this Tuesday and approved it “unanimously”. The elections take place just over five months before the winner takes office.on January 10, 2025.
The schedule “takes into account all constitutional, legal and technical requirements“said the president of the CNE, Elvis Amoroso, former comptroller responsible for the disqualification of opponents and sanctioned by the United States in 2017 and the European Union in 2020.
The display matches the 11th anniversary of the leftist Chávez's death (1999-2013), whose legacy Maduro has promised to preserve.
Maduro already appears to be advertising trips to the province for government and political events, which have so far been the exception.
The opposition, on the other hand, is under pressure. In practice, it has no candidate after a 15-year ban from holding public office against the former deputy was confirmed. María Corina Machado, winner of her primary.
What does Machado say?
Machadoalthough names are mixed, He denied the possibility of resigning and insisted he would go “to the end.”supported by the more than two million votes with which she won the opposition Unity Platform coalition's primaries.
“Today, considering what happened, that They try to ignore the rights of Venezuelans to listen carefully, calmly and firmly. This is what's coming, and more work than ever before“Machado said during a political event in Venezuela in the last few hours.
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“On March 21st The whole of Venezuela accompanies our unity candidate during registration“Wrote in X the leader Juan Guaidó, who is exiled in the United States.
But Henrique Capriles, a two-time former presidential candidate and also disqualified, wonders: “What now?”
“Decisions must be made,” he published in X. “Under no circumstances should we give up the power of the vote, (we must) put the country above any personal interest.”.
Other leaders far removed from the traditional opposition and branded “collaborators” have announced plans to run in the presidential election, which analysts say is aimed at dividing the anti-Chavista vote.
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The schedule
The deadline for registering candidacies has been set for March 21st to 25th, and the election campaign will take place from July 4th to 25th. ““He gives the opposition 20 days to find a solution.” a possible alternative candidate to Machado, Luis Vicente León, director of the polling institute Datanalisis, told AFP at one point Despite her disqualification, the opposition leader continues to be involved in political events. The ban, ratified by the Supreme Court in January, does not allow him To.
Maduro, who has ruled since 2013 after being anointed by Chávez before his death, said earlier this year it was “premature” to confirm whether he would seek a third term, although it was important Chavista leaders take his candidacy for granted from the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).
His re-election in 2018 was branded “fraudulent.” by the opposition, which boycotted the elections, and The United States imposed a series of sanctions in an unsuccessful attempt to remove him from power. The EU also ignored the result.
With information from AFP*