Venezuelan justice orders new election and vetoes opposition in Chavez state

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reuA Venezuelan justice ordered this Tuesday (30) cancel the counting of votes for the choice of governor of Barinas and excluded the opposition candidate from the new election to be called.

The state, where former president Hugo Chávez was born, is the only one in the country where the result of the election on the 21st has not yet been released. So far, allies of the regime have already confirmed victory in 19 states, in a election that marked the return of part of the opposition to the disputes — which had not occurred since the 2015 Legislatives, recognized as the last legitimate election in the country.

According to the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice, linked to the dictator Nicolás Maduro, successor of Chávez, the projections of the National Electoral Council gave the opposition candidate, Freddy Superlano, 37.6% of the votes, against 37.2% of Argenis Chávez, brother of the leader who commanded the country from 1999 to 2013.

The court, however, pointed to Superlano’s ineligibility for “administrative and criminal inquiries” as he is the target of corruption charges. The appeal to remove him from the dispute in Barinas was created by the congressman Adolfo Superlano, who has no family ties with the opponent, despite his surname.

Thus, a new election was scheduled for the 9th of January. The state has been ruled by Chávez’s family since 1998, with the election of his father, Hugo de los Reyes Chávez. He held power until 2008 and was succeeded by Adán, one of the former president’s brothers and now Venezuela’s ambassador to Cuba.

Argenis, who disputed the election with Superlano, has been the head of the regional Executive since 2017, but on Tuesday he resigned from the position and said he would not seek re-election in January.

The opponent, in turn, described the decision as “another demonstration of unwillingness to rebuild an electoral route as a way out of the political, social and economic crisis” in the country.

Later, at a rally in Caracas, opposition leader Juan Guaidó, recognized as Venezuela’s interim president by dozens of countries, accused the government of refusing to accept defeat in the state and said the moment should be used “to reunite the forces and demand adequate conditions” for the elections.

Last week, European Union observers called this year’s election the most balanced of the years of the Chavez regime. Delegates, however, pointed out problems, highlighting the ban on some opposition candidates and reports of difficulties in voting by some voters.

According to the head of the observer mission, Portuguese MEP Isabel Santos, “there were arbitrary bans on candidates for administrative reasons”, as well as the suspension or exclusion of “leaders or members of some of the most recognized parties”.

Santos also said that the initial report points to alternative websites blocked in at least 16 of the 23 Venezuelan states and delays in polling stations. Initially, Maduro praised the group, saying they “behaved to the full”. In this Monday (30), however, he called the observers “spies”.

“They sought to tarnish the electoral process [em um relatório] and failed. A delegation of spies, who were not observers, roamed freely around the country, spying on the country’s social, economic and political life,” the dictator said during a broadcast on state television.

In his speech, Maduro called the electoral process “impeccable” and “beautiful”.

Although the ruling party won the majority of governments, votes for Socialists have shrunk to less than 4 million, according to the country’s electoral authority, from 5.9 million given in regional elections in 2017. abstention (58.2%), the second highest since 2013.

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