Venezuela elections: Opposition asks its witnesses to monitor votes amid tense wait for crucial poll results

Venezuela is anxiously awaiting the results of this Sunday’s presidential election, in which the opposition could achieve a historic victory after 25 years of Chavismo rule.

chairman Nicolás MaduroHe, who has led the country since 2013, is confident of victory despite opposition calls for change, with long queues seen to vote on the day.

The opposition, for its part, asked its witnesses at the election centers not to go until they have the voting records in their hands and denounced that the transmission of the data is being delayed and that the presence of key witnesses is being denied before the voting is held by the National Electoral Council (CNE).

The CNE is the body in charge of delivering the official results, but it is unknown when it will announce them, adding to the tension in the country that is in suspense.

Leader of the Opposition Maria Corina MachadoWas disqualified from holding public office, transferred his support to the candidate Edmundo GonzalezThe 74-year-old former diplomat, who has formed a political pairing with Machado in the campaign, has regained hope among supporters seeking change.

Since 2013, the opposition has not seen as many chances of defeating Chavismo, despite complaints that the vote did not have fair conditions, such as Machado’s own ineligibility or the difficulties in voting for millions of Venezuelans living abroad due to the economic and political crisis that the country is suffering.

For his part, Maduro hopes that the ravages of the crisis will not prevent a new victory for Chavismo, which still has the support of a loyal sector of the population.

“This is a fight between good and evil, between those who hate and want revenge and those of us who love and cherish Venezuela. We have all gone through storms and we want to move forward in harmony so that everyone can continue their efforts and continue working for our economic recovery,” Maduro said as he went to vote this Sunday, adding that the result would be “recognized.”

Rival Gonzalez affirmed that he hoped the armed forces would respect the will of Venezuelans. “We are one people in search of our freedom,” he said.

The opposition hopes that the army will guarantee respect for the voters’ decision. Defense Minister, General Vladimir PadrinoSaid that the armed forces will respect the election results.

Machado also voted and expressed hope for victory: “The will to be free is certain: we are going to be free.”

Both opposition leaders highlighted high citizen participation, although official data and participation are not yet known.

Maduro won in 2018 without facing majority opposition, which believed the elections were not fair and resigned from participating, a strategy that has now changed.

The president attributes the country’s problems to international sanctions led by the United States against his government, although the difficulties began much earlier.

Both regions were optimistic about the results, although neither could give exact numbers to avoid violating electoral law.

Delsa Solórzano, one of the opposition witnesses before the CNE, denounced the delay in the transmission of the data and said that the minutes had not been delivered to the witnesses.

Given the delay, the foreign ministries of nine Latin American countries called for a “transparent vote count”.

He is also the President of Chile Gabriel BoricAsked for transparency.

“The results of this crucial election for Venezuela must be transparent, timely and fully reflect the popular will expressed in the election. The international community, of which our country Chile is a part, will not accept anything other than this,” he said.

Norberto Paredes, BBC Mundo’s special envoy in Venezuela

This Sunday, July 28, uncertainty prevailed in the streets of Caracas.

It is a day that passed without any major incident and witnessed huge participation.

From early morning people flocked to polling stations to exercise their franchise.

At Liceo Andres Bello, one of the largest polling stations in the Venezuelan capital, a woman told me she had been waiting in line for two hours, but was willing to spend the entire day there if necessary.

Or a few kilometers away, at the Amanda de Schnell school, located in the El Valle parish, a past stronghold of the Chavista movement, several neighbors who stayed a few hours in the hot Caracas sun to vote told me that the economic crisis had forced them to vote for the opposition in the first place: “It is impossible to justify the Maduro government anymore,” one man told me on condition of anonymity.

Something that may be circumstantial, but which may also lend itself to interpretation, is that one of the few centers where I did not see large queues was the Manuel Palacio Fajardo school, in the 23 de Enero parish, a populous area in Caracas known for being one of the great strongholds of the Chavista movement.

Former Venezuelan president casts his vote there hugo chavez And his daughter, María Gabriela Chávez, still votes there. When he arrived to exercise his right at 11:30 a.m., there were barely a dozen people waiting to vote. The majority told me they were going to vote for the opposition candidate.

I thought both the opposition and Chavismo were confident they would win this election, so it’s hard to predict who will win when the president of the National Electoral Council (CNE, Elvis AmorosoGo out to announce the winner of the contest.

Therefore, it is possible that uncertainty will remain even after the results are announced.

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