(CNN Spanish) — On behalf of the Democratic Unity Platform, Piaggio Pilieri, close to Maria Corina Machado, the candidate elected in the October 22 primaries, assured this Wednesday’s press conference that the opposition’s internal elections were a complete and overwhelming victory. Sentences aren’t going to destroy it.”
“Nothing can ignore the results or their political consequences, the democratic factors cannot be ignored,” Billieri stressed, referring to the opposition parties. Likewise, he confirmed that there is already a single candidacy with María Corina Machado, with whom they will win the 2024 presidential election.
He added that the strategy of the coalition of opposition parties, known as the Unity Platform, is to defend the results, fight for electoral conditions, win the presidential election and build a broad government. He recalled three elements that Machado put on the table: creating a comprehensive and electoral security mandate, working toward a larger national agreement, and working on the so-called “Grace Land,” a government plan he proposed. A primary winner in his campaign.
On October 22, the Venezuelan opposition contested internal elections with the participation of 10 candidates, seeking to define the candidate that would represent the coalition of those parties in the presidential election in the second half of 2024.
According to the latest bulletin of the National Primary Commission, more than 2,307,000 people participated in the process, which gave victory to Maria Corina Machado with 92.35% of the votes, that is, more than 2,253,000 votes.
Opposition primaries were organized without the support of the National Electoral Council (CNE). In June, the CNP contacted the electoral authority to request technical and logistical support, but the organization proposed postponing it a month before the event.
After several meetings where no agreement was reached, the CNP decided to move forward with the election schedule, leaving aside the debate held by the candidates at an early stage about whether it was more convenient to hold the election with the support of the candidates, with or without the CNE.
Eight days after the primaries, the Electoral Chamber of the Supreme Court issued a ruling in response to a controversial election appeal brought by José Brito, a former Venezuelan deputy, dissident and former activist of the opposition Primero Justicia. In favor of official strategies.
According to the decision of the Electoral Chamber, all the actions of the Primary Commission are nullified and it is confirmed that Machado has a “certain disqualification” so that he cannot hold public office and therefore run for office before the National. Council. Election. The candidate considers the sanction to be illegal and unconstitutional, saying that it was the people who voted for him that helped him advance on the electoral path.
On the other hand, the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic opened an investigation based on public complaints of alleged irregularities in the process and suspicions of inflated voter numbers, as explained by the head of the Public Ministry, Tarek William Chap. . For this, the National Primary Commission President Jesus Maria Casal, Vice President Mildred Camaro and Commission Member Roberto Abdul were sent a summons last Monday.
Among other issues, they are probing the origin of funds that funded the process and asked to verify the minutes and ballot papers containing the names of the people who voted in the process.
