The anti-Cháveza National Union of Workers party withdrew its candidacy from the Venezuelan opposition primaries

Venezuela’s En Nuevo Tiempo (UNT) party announced Thursday that it is withdrawing its candidacy for the opposition primaries on October 22.from which the standard-bearer who will face Chavismo in the 2024 presidential elections will emerge, and for which the lineup was registered without specifying the name of its candidate.

“According to the opinion of our party structures, we have decided that Un Nuevo Tiempo will not register its candidacy and will open a waiting period to evaluate the new procedures that will follow,” the lineup said in a statement read by its vice-president, Luis Emilio Rondón.

in writing, 72 hours before the deadline to nominate its final candidate, the party acknowledged the need to “form a strong, resolute and cohesive unit”.She emphasized that primaries are the “best way” to start this process.

“Venezuela will have a National Union of Workers party (and) our leader Manuel Rosales Rondon added, who stressed that the formation he belongs to does not want to be “another annoying factor in this process.”

“We announce that we will not have a candidate of our own (…) But of course our party (…) will announce in due course who is the standard-bearer or the standard-bearer that we will accompany in the election process, “he repeated.

The opposition indicated that there will be meetings with leaders of other parties to achieve a “big political alliance” and propose a concrete “unity”.

On June 24, the UFN registered in the primaries the name of a fighter named José Hernández—with no known political performance—in order to reserve space on the list, pending determination of who would be its candidate, a mystery that remains today.

After the candidacy is withdrawn, there will certainly be 13 applicants who will face each other in the opposition primary.

On the other hand, it isCandidates for Venezuela’s opposition primary elections have agreed to present a plan to deal with procedures arising from institutions that could affect the October 22 internal elections.People who participated in a meeting between the presidential candidates held on Monday informed EFE on Tuesday.

The sources, who requested anonymity out of respect for an agreement between the two candidates not to speak to the media about these issues, agreed that Monday’s meeting, held in Caracas, marked the beginning of work to strengthen unity against the so-called Bolivarian Revolution in power since 1999.

“They talked about strategies, not yet fully defined, regarding the obstacles the government will put in place to complete the primary and what to do in the event of disqualification,” explained one of the participants in this first meeting, which concluded with a commitment to “define” procedures in the “following meetings”.

He added that the meeting was “a lot of thesis” and “few agreements”, without commenting on anything agreed upon.

(with information from EFE)

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