The Venezuelan Comptroller, aligned with dictator Nicolás Maduro, reported that it disqualified the candidacy of five more opponents of the socialist regime. The decision was taken on Wednesday 24th. Of the politicians barred by the body, two are acting mayors and three are former deputies.
They join a long list which includes leader María Corina Machado, ineligible for 15 years, upon being sentenced by the Venezuelan Supreme Court. She won the opposition primaries and was the favorite for the July 28 elections.
Venezuela’s opponents: 15 years of ineligibility
The measure that makes the names of opponents of Maduro ineligible could last 15 years. In this case, this applies to mayors Elías Sayegh, of El Hatillo, and José Antonio Fernández López, of Los Salias.
The same period of disqualification also applies to former deputies Tomás Guanipa and Carlos Ocariz. As for former parliamentarian Juan Carlos Caldeira, the disqualification will last 12 months.
Find out more: ‘We have a voting process, but not elections in Venezuela’, says political scientist
All three former deputies are supporters of Henrique Capriles, a two-time presidential candidate. Former leader of the opposition to Maduro’s dictatorship in Venezuela, he was also disqualified by the Comptroller’s Office in 2017.
Ocariz, Guanipa and Caldera, who with Capriles are part of the First Justice (PJ) party, rejected the measures.
On Twitter/X, Guanipa asked people to go to the polls on July 28. “No matter what they do or how they do it, nothing distracts us,” she said. “Nobody takes us off the electoral path. Everyone to the polls on July 28th!”
The main opposition alliance, the Democratic Unity Platform (PUD), classified the disqualifications against the five opposition candidates as “illegal”.
According to journalist and expert on electoral issues Eugenio Martínez, the five names ineligible for the Venezuelan dictatorship are “potential candidates for regional and parliamentary positions”.
Therefore, for Martínez, the Comptroller’s measures also make these claims unfeasible. Elections for mayor and governor will be held in 2025 in Venezuela.
Elections in Venezuela: Maduro appears 13 times on ballot
Nicolás Maduro’s photograph appears 13 times on the ballot for the country’s next presidential elections. The document, issued by National Electoral Council (CNE)controlled by the regime, was presented last Monday, the 22nd.
Maduro displayed the ballot on his program on Venezuela’s state television and defended himself against the accusation of manipulating the document. The dictator’s name and photo appear at the top of the ballot and on the left.
+ Read the latest news from around the world in West
In addition to the 13 photographs of Maduro, the ballot features 14 other candidates nominated by 37 parties. On the television program, Maduro said that the ballot could still undergo changes, as the deadline for parties and candidates to form new alliances was extended by 72 hours from Sunday.
