Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro, called on Sunday (21) for his supporters to vote in local and regional elections 20 minutes after the official closing of polling centers, prompting criticism from several opposition candidates.
“I ask everyone who has their list of 1×10 (government vote campaign) to go to the end of the patriotic, Bolivarian and Chavez offensive across the country. For you, men and women who have our list, mobilization is important! To fight, to fight and to win, to vote to win”, wrote Maduro on Twitter.
The head of state published the message at 18:20 (local time), 20 minutes after the official closing time, which can be extended, according to electoral regulations, only in centers where there is still a queue of voters.
“In accordance with the provisions of article 308 of the Regulation of the (Organic Law of Electoral Processes) Lopre, from this time, 6 pm, the voting process ends, except at polling stations where voters line up to vote, and we we have entered the counting, transmission and totalization phase”, he wrote.
However, EFE Agency found that several polling stations in Caracas remained open despite the lack of voters and queues.
Maduro’s message was echoed by opponent Henrique Capriles, who marked the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU-EOM) in his response and highlighted the official closing time.
The opposition candidate for mayor of Caracas Tomás Guanipa denounced at 18:44 that the voting centers in the capital “and throughout the country were still open, with no voters in the queues”. “We ask our witnesses and members of the polling stations to enforce the law,” he warned.
In the same vein, the anti-Chavista candidate for the governorship of Miranda, David Uzcátegui, also manifested himself. “Attention, Miranda. The regulation establishes the closing of polling stations at 6 pm, if there are no people in the queue. In several regions, they do not want to close the centers. We urgently ask the National Electoral Council”, wrote the candidate at 18:46.
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