Venezuelan opposition deputy José Brito talking to reporters. Photo: El Nacional/File photo.
This Tuesday, February 28, the Venezuelan opposition deputy and presidential candidate for the Primero Venezuela party, José Brito, stated that the National Primary Commission (CNP), belonging to the so-called Unitary Platform, has placed obstacles preventing his participation in the primaries elections, intended to select a candidate that represents a broad sector of the opposition for the 2024 presidential race.
In an interview with Unión Radio network, the opposition deputy said that his party began “a cycle of rapprochement” with the CNP through all possible channels, including social networks, written communications, and emails, but this did not guarantee the inclusion of the political organization that he represents in the contest scheduled for October 22.
The parliamentarian reported that in a meeting held by the parties on December 8, Primero Venezuela appointed its technical representative to the CNP and warned that it hoped not to have to find out about the result through social networks. “Between laughs,” Brito stated, “they said: ‘that won’t happen’ and to our surprise, that’s what happened.”
According to Brito, behind this refusal would be Henry Ramos Allup and other leaders of the Unitary Platform, who would have the last word in relation to the decisions adopted by the CNP. “Unfortunately, [the members of the CNP] do not have autonomy,” he added. “Unfortunately, many of them are tutored by those extremist, irrational, and irresponsible minority opposition lords within the country.”
Thus, Brito indicated that on January 30 they filed a protest letter to the CNP board of directors, and this Monday they presented the accusations to representatives of the European Union in the country, as well as to the US diplomat James Story, designated by Washington as responsible for relations with Venezuela, even though he is stationed in Colombia.
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“They are lying to you, that little group that you lower a ticket to, that you finance, that you protect, it is telling you that here is a call in which everyone is participating,” Brito said, alluding to the US diplomat and its relations with the Unitary Platform leadership. “But it is neither broad nor transparent, and, furthermore, it is profoundly exclusive, divisive, myopic, and profoundly defeatist.”
In his words, the public complaint “before his masters” forced the CNP to publish a tweet in which it stressed that “no one is excluded” from the process they organize, although it is recognized that “all technical instances are already covered,” which means Primero Venezuela would be forced to compete “blindly.”
Despite these criticisms, Brito defended the need for a primary election to be held in which all the sectors that oppose the government of President Nicolás Maduro come together, although he warned that if his party does not obtain guarantees, it will develop the electoral campaign from the sidelines.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/AU
