Venezuela's Opposition in Crisis as Vice President of Primaries Commission Resigns

María Carolina Uzcátegui, the vice president of the National Primaries Commission of the Venezuelan opposition, has recently stepped down from her role, submitting a resignation letter pointing out her deep frustration and disappointment with the ongoing primaries process. This development once again highlights the significant internal crisis within a faction of the Venezuelan opposition, as they struggle to come to a consensus on the method for selecting their sole candidate for the 2024 presidential elections.

Uzcátegui’s resignation, which occurred on Wednesday, July 26, during the midst of the opposition’s primary procedure and just a few months before the scheduled primaries, dealt a severe blow to the commission’s already tarnished credibility.

In her resignation letter, addressed to the commission’s president, Jesús María Casal, Uzcátegui expressed her concerns, writing, “The technical and logistical conditions are not in place for the primary process to be a broad consultation within the reach of the majority of Venezuelans regardless of their social stratum.”

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The letter focused on three major problems associated with the process:

Technical and logistical limitations that would make it impossible to carry out the process to its full extent.
Creating false expectations for Venezuelans abroad.
Lack of guarantees for manual voting.

#ULTIMAHORA Informa el @elpoliticove de forma extraoficial que la vicepresidenta de la Comisión Nacional de Primaria, María Carolina Uzcategui, renuncia al cargo por considerar que "existen las garantías necesarias con el proceso de voto manual" en dicho proceso. pic.twitter.com/i0516lPFOj
— Robert Lobo (@RobertLobo_) July 27, 2023

It’s worth noting that these essential aspects, crucial in any electoral process, would have been guaranteed by the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela, which, as the highest electoral authority of the country, possesses the necessary logistical and technical tools. However, the National Primary Commission itself rejected the CNE’s offer of support.

The revelations of growing contradictions and issues in the process by the former vice president of the opposition commission have sparked rumors of potential cancellation of the primaries. Moreover, this situation could pave the way for negotiations and hand-picked appointments among opposition parties, leading to further fragmentation within the opposition ranks.

(RedRadioVE) by Fransay Riera

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/SC/KZ