Opposition politician Andrés Velázquez. Photo: Transparencia Venezuela/File photo.
Andrés Velásquez, a pre-candidate in opposition primary elections, lashed out against the agreement reached by the National Primary Commission (CNP) and the National Electoral Council (CNE) to evaluate the technical support for the opposition’s internal elections.
This Monday, September 25, the CNE and the CNP agreed to open a joint commission to discuss the technical aspects of the assistance. After this announcement, the opposition leader Andrés Velásquez criticized the decision and called it “a calculated move by Maduro and his allies” in the CNE.
According to Velásquez, the CNE and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro want to “torpedo the primaries.” He said that “nothing can alter the agreed regulations and schedule,” already set in motion by opposition groups.
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“On October 22, rain or shine, our primaries will take place. Neither Maduro nor Amoroso can stop the primaries,” added Andrés Velásquez.
Although Velásquez, a candidate for the Radical Cause, says that the CNE would seek to “alter the agreed regulations and schedules,” this decision comes from requests made by members of the CNP, given that every day it appears more evident the difficulties it would have in carrying out self-managed elections.
The lack of logistics for the opposition primaries was the cause of more than four resignations within the ranks of the National Primary Commission. The former members argued that there were no conditions to carry out the process.
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One of the last complaints about the process was made by former vice president of the CNP, María Carolina Uzcátegui, who stated that more than 200 voting centers for the opposition internal elections should be modified.
This came because some of the owners of these alleged voting centers were unaware that their spaces would be used for such purposes. Meanwhile, others regretted using their venues for the elections.
During the preparation for the opposition primaries, Andrés Velásquez has had several critiques, such as the alliance between opposition political parties in the case of Un Nuevo Tiempo (UNT) with Henrique Capriles.
(RedRadioVE) by Ana Perdigón
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SF
