The governments of Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay voiced their concerns about ongoing obstacles in the registration process for presidential candidates in Venezuela, just under 24 hours before the deadline, as reported by the National Electoral Council.
The countries issued a joint statement in response to the Venezuelan opposition's repeated reports of unsuccessful attempts to register Corina Yoris, María Corina Machado's appointed replacement, as presidential candidate.
"At this moment, the majority parties of the Venezuelan opposition -MUD and UNT- have not been able to register their candidate, Corina Yoris, to represent them in the upcoming presidential elections," the countries wrote in a joint statement.
Comunicado de prensa: ante nuevos obstáculos al proceso de inscripción electoral en la República Bolivariana de Venezuela.
📎https://t.co/0ZUmVf4KeM pic.twitter.com/e1Hv6q6Y2J
— Cancillería Argentina 🇦🇷 (@CancilleriaARG) March 25, 2024
The countries stressed that "This situation, together with the previous disqualifications that have been in the public domain, raises questions about the integrity and transparency of the electoral process as a whole (...) These restrictions impede progress towards elections that allow a democratization process to be carried out in sister Venezuela."
We urge that the situation be reconsidered so that, at the end of the registration period, the citizens who meet the requirements outlined in the Venezuelan Constitution can be properly registered, so that the Venezuelan people can freely choose freely their next government.
