María Corina Machado was barred from running for public office for 15 years by the General Inspectorate of Nicolás Maduro's government
The winner of Venezuela's primary election, María Corina Machado, appealed to the country's Supreme Court on Friday (December 17, 2023) to review her ban from running for and holding public office. The former congresswoman's political activity was disqualified by the government of Nicolás Maduro in June this year.
According to CNN, the date marks the end of the period within which Machado can request review of the appeal from the court. The former MP's political obstruction was imposed by Venezuela's Auditor General on the grounds that she had not included the payment of food allowances in her declaration of assets. She claims the disqualification was unlawful.
As he left the court, Machado told reporters that “he has taken a clear step towards the defeat of Maduro in 2024.”
“We are in the middle of very complex and difficult national and international negotiations to hold clean and free presidential elections in 2024 in which we will defeat Nicolás Maduro. We will not give this regime a single excuse to deviate from the electoral course. Let's go to the end. The ball is now in the regime’s court, now it’s your turn to follow the rules.”
In October, María Corina Machado emerged victorious in the opposition primaries for the 2024 elections. The obstruction disrupted the former lawmakers' ability to lead the opposition to Maduro. The ban by Venezuela's auditor general is valid for 15 years.
Machado was also prevented from leaving Venezuela for nine years and was suspended from her position for 12 months in 2015.
USA CELEBRATE
Machado's decision was welcomed by the US Embassy in Venezuela on Friday (December 15). The North American government's official representative said on X (formerly Twitter) that the former congresswoman's stance was one of “bravery” and “preparedness.”
In addition to the winner of the primaries, other opposition members were barred from holding public office and, alongside Machado, appealed to the Supreme Court. This was the case of Henrique Capriles, opponent of Hugo Chávez in the 2012 presidential elections, former MP Freddy Superlano and Roberto Abdul, president of the NGO Súmate, of which Machado is a cofounder.