Venezuela confirms US seeks to ignore and delegitimize its presidential election

The Venezuelan government confirmed this Thursday that the United States trying to ignore and delegitimize the presidential elections July 28, after the Joe Biden administration required the participation of all anti-Chavista candidates who wish to do so.

“Venezuela categorically rejects the statement of the US government of March 27, 2024, in which, finally, the leaders of the operation against Venezuela show their faces, like the owners of a circus trying to ignore and delegitimize next presidential elections,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement published in X magazine.

He argued that the United States seeks to minimize the participation of 37 “political forces” At the national level, “covering the wide ideological spectrum that exists in the country, 13 presidential candidates have been registered, including 12 who identify themselves as oppositionists.”

Venezuelan Prime Minister Nicolas Maduero said that fully complies with legal regulations and with “every clause” of the Barbados Agreement on the Conduct of Presidential Elections.

“Faced with this new State Department determination to take the path of extremism against Venezuelan democracy, Bolivarian dignity will make them fail again and again,” he noted.

For its part, the National Electoral Council (CNE) stated that it cannot take responsibility for “personal shortcomings of some persons” who, according to him, intend to put their interests above national legitimacy.

“Each nomination must have the support of registered political organizations or the will of a significant group of voters. “It is not the courage of the US State Department that will determine future processes in our prestigious electoral system,” he said.

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On Wednesday, the United States pressed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to allow participation in the July 28 elections. all opposition candidates wishing to do so.

Thus, the Biden administration confirmed its position regarding the disqualification of the main opposition candidate. Maria Corina Machado and the impossibility of her educationDemocratic Unitary Platform (PUD), register academic Corina Joris as a replacement.

“The CNE’s acceptance of only opposition candidates with whom Maduro and his representatives feel comfortable runs counter to competitive and inclusive elections,” warned State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.

Given the opposition platform’s difficulties in nominating a candidate, the governments of Brazil and Colombia, allies of Venezuela, expressed their worry about what happened.

The PUD reported Tuesday that it was able to pre-register Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutiawhich can be replaced from April 1 of the following year, provided that it does not have any administrative sanctions or obstacles.

(according to information from EFE And A.N.)