Nicolás Maduro's regime violates the Barbados Agreement once again by announcing illegitimate elections for July 28th
The elections do not meet the minimum requirements to be considered "free and fair" after the main opposition leader was illegally disqualified.
Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) (Federico Parra / AFP)
This Tuesday, the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela, controlled by Nicolas Maduro's dictatorship, announced that the next presidential elections will be held on July 28 following a proposal submitted by the illegitimate parliament.
The president of the CNE, Elvis Amoroso, announced that the special national and international Electoral Registration Day will take place from March 18 to April 16. He shared that the period to present nominations will take place from March 21 to March 25, imposing a tight schedule that will grant the opposition only 20 days to come up with and present a substitute candidate in place of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado who was illegally disqualified by the regime.
Amoroso also announced that the electoral campaign is scheduled to take place between July 4 and 25.
The elections violate the Constitution
Jose Ignacio Hernandez, a constitutional lawyer posted on social media that the CNE's announcement violates both the Venezuelan Constitution and the Barbados Agreement signed between the government and the opposition last year with the support of the Biden administration.
Hernandez explained that the elections do not meet the minimum conditions to be considered "free and fair" because they will not be truly competitive.
The lawyer stated that Nicolás Maduro's regime chose to disqualify the opposition leader María Corina Machado, despite having won the primaries with a resounding 92.5% of the votes. He also stressed that this measure constitutes "a serious violation of the American Convention and the conditions of electoral integrity derived from the Inter-American System."
The European Union will not recognize any election without Machado
Despite the CNE's announcement, many countries could refuse to recognize the electoral process if the main opposition leader remains disqualified. In fact, a few weeks ago the European Parliament issued a resolution assuring that "neither the elections nor the electoral results will be recognized if these conditions are not respected."
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