Asunción, Agencia IP.- The Presidency of the Republic issued a statement expressing its concern over the electoral situation in Venezuela and indicating the need for accessible, transparent presidential elections with the participation of all candidates.
On Friday, January 26, the Supreme Court of Venezuela confirmed the disqualification from holding public office for presidential candidate María Corina Machado, an opponent of Nicolás Maduro’s current Government.
The leader of the Vente Venezuela movement has argued that she was never formally notified of any disqualification, so she could not be denied the right to challenge Maduro for the Presidency in the upcoming elections scheduled for this year.
The Organization of American States (OAS) released a statement condemning the «recent actions of the Venezuelan dictatorship» regarding Machado’s disqualification, stating that she is the «winning candidate in the primaries and leading in the polls,» according to the multilateral organization.
«This dictatorial logic of political persecution and violation of political rights of citizens, entirely foreseeable and expected given the regime’s history, once again eliminates the possibility of free, fair, and transparent elections for Venezuela,» the statement adds.
In November of last year, the government confirmed restoring diplomatic relations with Venezuela, which were interrupted in January 2019. During the past week, Venezuela’s new ambassador, Ricardo Capella, presented his credentials to Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez.