The Venezuelan comptroller's office, allied with dictator Nicolas Maduro, said it had ruled out the candidacy of five other opponents of the socialist regime. The decision was taken on Wednesday, the 24th of this month, and among the politicians banned by the authority, there are two acting mayors and three former representatives.
They join a long list Which includes leader Maria Corina Machado, disqualified for 15 years, after being sentenced by the Venezuelan Supreme Court. She won the opposition primary and was the favorite in the July 28 elections.
Venezuela opponents: 15 years of disqualification
The measure that makes the names of Maduro's opponents ineligible could last 15 years. In this case, this applies to mayors Elias Sayegh, of El Hatillo, and José Antonio Fernández López, of Los Salillas.
The same disqualification period also applies to former representatives Tomas Guanipa and Carlos Ocariz. As for former parliamentarian Juan Carlos Caldera, the disqualification will last for 12 months.
Find out more: 'We have a voting process, but not elections in Venezuela,' says political scientist.
All three former deputies are supporters of Henrique Capriles, a two-time presidential candidate. The former leader of the opposition against the Maduro dictatorship in Venezuela, he was also disqualified by the comptroller's office in 2017.
Ocariz, Guaniba and Caldeira, who together with Capriles belong to the First Justice Party, rejected these measures.
On Twitter/X, Guanipa asked people to go to the polls on July 28. “No matter what they do, or how they do it, nothing distracts us,” he said. No one derails us from the electoral path. Everyone to the polls on July 28!
The main opposition coalition, the Democratic Unity Party, described the exclusions of the five opposition candidates as “illegal.”
According to journalist and expert on electoral issues Eugenio Martinez, the five ineligible names of the Venezuelan dictatorship are “potential candidates for regional and parliamentary positions.”
Therefore, for Martinez, the comptroller's actions also render these claims unenforceable. Mayor and governor elections are scheduled to be held in 2025 in Venezuela.
Elections in Venezuela: Maduro appears on the ballot 13 times
Nicolas Maduro's image appears 13 times on the ballot paper for the country's upcoming presidential elections. Document issued by National Electoral Council (CNE)Which is controlled by the regime, was shown last Monday, the 22nd of this month.
Maduro showed the ballot on his program on Venezuelan state television and defended himself against accusations of tampering with the document. The dictator's name and picture appear at the top of the ballot paper and on the left.
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In addition to the 13 images of Maduro, the ballot includes 14 other candidates nominated by 37 parties. Maduro said on the television program that the ballot could still undergo changes, as the deadline for parties and candidates to form new alliances was extended by 72 hours from Sunday.
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