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.
#ÚLTIMAHORA | El Consejo Nacional Electoral de Venezuela anunció que las elecciones presidenciales se llevarán a cabo el 28 de julio, fecha del nacimiento de Hugo Chávez.
La inscripción de candidatos será del 21 al 25 de marzo, lo que le dará a la oposición solo 20 días para… pic.twitter.com/xaBHRs0rGc
— VOZ (@VozMediaUSA) March 5, 2024
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.
El anuncio de elecciones por el #CNE viola la Constitución y por lo tanto, el Acuerdo de Barbados.
La elección convocada no reúne las condiciones mínimas para ser considerada libre y justa.
Lo expliqué en este artículo en @A_EstadoDerecho https://t.co/X4ka61wPdH https://t.co/ijLPtD3Xzt— Jose Ignacio Hernández G. (@ignandez) March 5, 2024
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."
