The Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), Venezuela's main opposition group, denounced this Sunday (21) that the country's National Electoral Council (CNE), controlled by Chavismo, is obstructing the membership of the Un Nuevo Tiempo (UNT) and Movimiento parties. For Venezuela (MPV) to the candidacy of Edmundo González Urrutia, chosen on Friday (19) as the new opposition representative for the presidential elections scheduled to take place on July 28th.
Both the UNT and the MPV announced their support for González Urrutia as a presidential candidate shortly after the PUD reached a consensus, which had the support of María Corina Machado, winner of the opposition primaries in October 2023, and the governor of Zulia, Manuel Rosales, about a representative for the dispute against Chavismo.
Rosales, who had proposed himself as a possible representative, renounced his presidential candidacy in favor of González Urrutia.
Despite the UNT, the party for which Rosales was running, having delivered its candidate's letter of resignation to the CNE on Saturday (20), the electoral body has not allowed, to date, the formalization of this party's adhesion to González Urrutia's candidacy. The same process occurred with the MPV, which had no candidate.
“Until now, both the UNT and the MPV have not been allowed to formalize their support in favor of the candidacy of Edmundo González Urrutia, which constitutes a clear violation of the electoral law and the approved schedule”, stated the PUD representatives this weekend.
According to information from the independent Venezuelan news website Cocouyo EffectUNT representatives at the CNE also expressed frustration with the Chavista body's automated candidacy system.
“Since yesterday [sábado]we are trying through the automated registration system to get the UNT party to join the electoral card of the Democratic Unity Table and the candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, after the submission of our candidate's resignation”, they said on Sunday.
Again under a scenario of uncertainty, because of this new obstacle imposed by the CNE, the PUD reiterated its appeal to Venezuelans to remain “firm on the electoral path”.
The Chavista body had given Saturday as the deadline for parties to make changes and join their candidacies, however, it extended this deadline for another 72 hours.
González Urrutia is the third candidate chosen to represent the PUD after the disqualification of Corina Machado and professor Corina Yoris, the latter being blocked by Chavismo without any justification.
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