The Smartencyclopedia Staff & Agencies
The opposition leader and defender of the free market says she has a duty to confront Maduro.
Former congresswoman Maria Corina Machado has declared victory in Venezuela’s opposition presidential primary after taking the lead, potentially putting her in a prime position to challenge the socialist leader longtime Nicolas Maduro in next year’s state election.
With more than 26% of the votes counted, Machado won 93% of the votes, preliminary organizers announced on Sunday night.
“Today, very powerful forces have been unleashed,” Machado told supporters outside his campaign headquarters in the capital Caracas. “Today I have received a mandate and I accept with the Venezuelan people a commitment to take this mission seriously.”
Vote counting is expected to continue on Monday, but it remains unclear how quickly it can be completed, amid delays that the National Primary Commission has blamed on the censorship Internet.
“We discovered that the server that serves as our transmission channel has been blocked, which makes it impossible for us to complete this process as planned,” said the committee’s president, Jesus Maria Casal.
Challenge uncertain
While Machado is clearly an opposition favorite, it remains unclear whether the harsh critic of the ruling United Socialist Party will be free to challenge Maduro, who is expected to seek another term in the elections scheduled to take place in Venezuela in the second half of 2024.
On June 30, Venezuela’s comptroller general announced that Machado would be banned from running. public office due to her support of international sanctions against the Maduro government.
There are signs that the ban could be lifted through negotiations between the opposition and the Venezuelan government. The two parties recently signed an election agreement, recognizing each party’s right to nominate candidates based on internal regulations. However, the agreement does not overturn pre-existing election bans.
The United States, which has largely eased sanctions on Venezuela’s oil, gas, and bonds in response to the deal, said Maduro has until the end of November to begin lifting the ban on the opposition and release political prisoners and “unjustly detained”. “American.
While the Maduro government released five prisoners, including prominent opposition members, it reiterated that those disqualified will not be able to run in the 2024 election.
The opposition, which maintains the restrictions are illegal, has not yet clarified what steps she will take if Machado remains banned.
Machado said she could pressure the authorities election to allow her to register, while others argued that a replacement would be needed if Maduro redoubled his efforts.
Third term
Maduro, a protégé of former President Hugo Chavez, has been in power since 2013. Although he has not officially announced his re-election bid, he is widely expected to run for a sixth term in the third year. A victory would put him on track to stay in power until 2030, well beyond Chavez’s 11 years in power.
A United Nations-backed panel said last month that Maduro’s government had stepped up efforts to limit democratic freedoms ahead of the 2024 elections, accusations echoed by human rights groups. This involved arbitrary detention, surveillance, intimidation, smear campaigns, and criminal proceedings against a number of politicians and other opponents.