Venezuelans queuing to vote in the first National Popular Consultation of 2025 on February 2, 2025. Photo: VTV.
The Venezuelan National Communal Electoral Commission highlighted the broad participation of the population in the first National Popular Consultation of 2025, held on Sunday, to select community projects for direct government funding.
“Today, citizen participation has exceeded the expectations in many polling stations, and we are happy to see that our people have shown what popular power means. We invite the people to participate in the consultation in order to improve grassroots issues in each commune,” commission member Carolina Arellano told the press on Sunday, February 2.
She highlighted that more than 36,000 communal projects were on the ballot in 5,334 communal circuits across the country, of which 17% were focused on the issue of water supply, 14% on housing improvement, 12% on roads, 11% on electricity, 10% on education, and some 8% on sports.
This time, some 42,000 communal councils throughout Venezuela participated in the consultation, compared to the first consultation in April 2024 which involved 35,000 councils and the second one in August which involved 40,000.
“Today, all the polling stations were operating normally, all the people voted happily, deciding on the proposals that they themselves presented, of which seven were chosen for each commune,” Arellano said.
The representative of the electoral commission also expressed her gratitude to the National Electoral Council (CNE) for its constant support in carrying out the consultation, and to the Bolivarian National Armed Force (FANB) for providing security and delivering the electoral material in the 24 states of the country.
Another member of the commission, Luis Cabello, congratulated the Venezuelan people for their participation in the process, “deepening the system of government announced by President Nicolás Maduro.”
Resolution of problems in communities
Arellano highlighted that to date, 2,937 water projects, 1,900 road projects, 1,768 housing projects, 1,597 electricity projects, 1,168 education projects, and 1,127 health projects have been launched throughout the country.
She added that “the response of the people has been overwhelming,” and thanked President Nicolás Maduro for his support for the empowerment of the people and the resolution of issues and needs within communities.
High participation in Caracas
A large turnout was recorded in Caracas, in parishes such as Altagracia, La Candelaria, San Agustín, Santa Rosalía, Caricuao, Sucre, and San José, reoprted Últimas Noticias.
Some 300 polling stations were opened in Caracas for the first National Popular Consultation of 2025, where residents of the capital voted for the projects of their preference to continue the transformation of their communities and to strengthen Venezuelan democracy.
Caracas Mayor Carmen Meléndez said that the command post of the capital district was deployed for the day. “A whole team of people is monitoring this important electoral event and paying attention to all the voting centers in Caracas,” she wrote in a social media post.
(Últimas Noticias) by María Eugenia Rodríguez, with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SC
