Venezuela is preparing to hold the most important elections of the last decade in the country on Sunday, in which ten candidates will compete for the presidency, among whom the choice will be to continue the Chavista government, which has been in power for 25 years, or a government of the opposite sign.
With the opening of the 15,767 polling stations scheduled for 6:00 a.m. local time (10:00 GMT) just hours away, expectations are growing for an election in which the majority opposition is taking part – with Edmundo González Urrutia as its standard-bearer – for the first time since the 2015 parliamentary elections, when he won.
In addition to the candidate from the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) – the main anti-Chavez coalition – the current head of state, Nicolás Maduro, is also competing, seeking a third consecutive six-year term in power.
The more than 21 million voters will also be able to choose between the evangelical pastor Javier Bertucci, the comedian Benjamín Rausseo, the former mayors Daniel Ceballos and Claudio Fermín, the former councilman Antonio Ecarri, the deputies Luis Eduardo Martínez and José Brito and the former electoral rector Enrique Márquez, the closest to the majority opposition.
Voting abroad
Abroad, 69,211 Venezuelans will be able to participate, a tiny fraction of the approximately 4 million of voting age and eligible to vote, of the more than 7 million who emigrated, according to data from the UN Interagency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants, a figure that the Government reduces to about 2 million.
Migrants will be able to vote in 104 diplomatic and consular representations of Venezuela around the world, the president of the Commission for Political Participation and Financing of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Aime Nogal, told EFE on Saturday.
Chavismo and the opposition called on people to vote and to protect and defend each and every vote, which will define, according to the parties, the destiny of the country, still in crisis despite improvements in the economy in the last three years, which have not managed to stop migration.
International community attentive
The international community, which is home to millions of Venezuelan citizens, is closely watching this process, especially after a campaign – which ended last Thursday – with complaints from anti-Chavez supporters of arrests, obstacles and “threats”, among others.
Several countries in the region also expressed their “concern” in this regard, as well as their desire for the electoral process to develop peacefully and for the result to be respected by the parties.
Security in the elections in Venezuela
To protect the security of the process, more than 388,000 members of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) and the various State security bodies have been deployed since last Wednesday in the country’s 335 municipalities.
In addition, some 700 officials from the Ombudsman’s Office will verify “the correct operation” of the voting machines and will ensure “the defense and surveillance” of the human rights of voters, while a total of 1,236 officials from the Prosecutor’s Office will be deployed to prevent, “if necessary”, any circumstance “to tarnish or hinder” the process.
On the other hand, since Friday, the border crossings between Venezuela and Colombia and Brazil have been closed to the movement of people and vehicles, and strict controls have been applied at customs and air and sea entrances.
The measure came into effect at 00:01 local time on Friday (4:01 GMT) and will last until 8:00 local time (12:00 GMT) next Monday, even though the resolution indicated that it would be until 23:59 on Monday (3:59 GMT on Tuesday).
Source: EFE
