Venezuelan Far-Right Opposition Does Not Deliver Electoral Records to Supreme Court
Edmundo Gonzalez’s empty chair at the Venezuelan Supreme Court, Aug. 7, 2024. Photo: teleSUR
August 7, 2024 Hour: 2:31 pm
Former candidate Gonzalez defied the judges’ order and did not present the documents he claimed to have.
On Wednesday, Edmundo Gonzalez, who was a candidate for the Democratic Unity Platform (PUD), did not appear at the hearing in the Supreme Court of Justice’s Electoral Chamber, where he was expected to present the voting records from the presidential elections held on July 28.
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Previously, the Supreme Court President Caryslia Rodriguez summoned all former presidential candidates to present the electoral records in their possession from August 7 to 9.
This request responds to the contentious action presented by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who asked the Supreme Court for a thorough investigation of the presidential elections to clear any accusations of fraud. Judge Rodriguez formally recorded that the far-right politician Gonzalez did not attend the judicial hearing, thus disobeying an explicit mandate from the Supreme Court.
“The failure to appear before the Electoral Chamber will have the consequences provided for in our current legal system,” Rodriguez warned when she sent the subpoenas to the political parties.
“All electoral instruments in the possession of political parties and candidates must be presented,” she added. In the elections on July 28, the candidate of the Great Patriotic Pole, Nicolas Maduro, was re-elected as president of Venezuela for the 2025-2031 term with 51.9 percent of the votes.
The far-right politician Gonzalez, who proclaimed himself as Venezuelan President, also did not attend a previous summons from the Supreme Court. Instead, his party did not recognize the election results and attempted to usurp the authority of the National Electoral Council, promoting violent acts on July 29 and 30, which caused significant material damage, two security agents killed, and over 140 people injured.
Before the voting day, Gonzalez did not sign the “Agreement to Recognize the Presidential Election Results,” an instrument of political ethics through which 8 out of 10 candidates publicly committed to recognizing the results and contributing to the country’s peace.
On Monday, Elvis Amoroso, the president of the National Electoral Council, went to the Supreme Court to deliver the requested documents for the expert examination of the electoral records.
Today, the Electoral Chamber received representatives from right-wing organizations, among whom were Zulia Governor Manuel Rosales (A New Time party), Jose Cartaya (Democratic Unity Roundtable), and Jose Calzadilla (Movement for Venezuela). None of them presented either evidence or records to the judges.
Representatives from parties that supported former candidates Jose Brito (Venezuela First Movement) and Luis Eduardo Martinez (Democratic Action) are also expected to attend the Electoral Chamber. On Friday, President Nicolas Maduro will appear before the Supreme Court to deliver 100 percent of the records in the possession of the Great Patriotic Pole.
teleSUR/ JF Source: VTV – teleSUR
