Elections in Venezuela: They warn that Chavismo excluded several opposition mayors to promote abstentionism

Venezuelan opposition figure Simon Calzadilla confirmed on Friday that the exclusion of anti-Chavista mayors from political eligibility by the Office of the Comptroller General, It seeks to promote abstention from voting Ahead of the presidential elections on July 28.

“They will not intimidate us, on the contrary, here we continue, here we continue, with the people in the streets, in a campaign to bring about change on July 28,” said the Secretary General of the Movement for Venezuela. ), quoted from a press release.

In his opinion, this decision only reflects… “The fear and weakness of Nicolás Maduro’s government in the face of its unstable electoral situation.”While he said that this only strengthens the “determination of the people” to vote for Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, the standard bearer of the opposition coalition “Democratic Unitary Platform.”

The Venezuelan Comptroller General has excluded opposition mayors Irema Vázquez and José María Firmín, from the municipalities of Tobores and Valleba, respectively, from holding public office for 15 years, in the state of Nueva Esparta (northeast of the country), as stated on the website of the Foundation Truth of Consultants – as they confirmed For the agency Evie On Wednesday – they were not notified.

The Comptroller’s Office page indicates that the exclusions were made pursuant to two decisions dated May 24, 2024, although no public statement has been issued by this institution yet.

He condemned González Urrutia, the Democratic Unionist Party candidate, on Wednesday Political removal of dozens of mayors from two regions of the country.

Through the social network In retaliation for supporting his candidacyHe will face Nicolas Maduro, who is seeking re-election for the second time.

“Our support to the ten mayors of Trujillo and Nueva Esparta who were unjustly excluded for supporting our candidacy. The increasing persecution confirms that Venezuela has decided to change and will express this with determination on July 28,” González Urrutia wrote, without specifying the names.

On the other hand, the Carter Center announced on Friday that it would send an observation mission to these presidential elections. The organization indicated in a statement that it had received an invitation from the Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE) as part of the agreement signed in October 2023 between Chavismo and the opposition in Barbados.

The mission will be led by Jenny Lincoln, senior advisor for the Carter Center for Latin America and the Caribbean. He will arrive in Venezuela on June 29. According to its statement, it will not conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the voting, counting and aggregation processes due to their limited size and scope. He explained that “the mission’s assessments will be based on the national legal framework, as well as regional and international obligations and standards in the field of human rights related to democratic elections.”

The Carter Center has observed several elections in Venezuela, including an expert mission for the 2021 regional and local elections.

(With information from EFE)