Venezuelan Opposition Candidates Exercise Their Right to Vote
People line up to vote at the Venezuela school in La Candelaria parish, Caracas, July 28, 2024.
July 28, 2024 Hour: 9:36 am
The race for the presidency of the Bolivarian Republic includes President Nicolas Maduro and nine opposition candidates.
On Sunday, July 28, over 20 million Venezuelans will go to the polls to elect the president of the republic for the 2025-2031 term.
Ten candidates will appear on the voting machines: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Edmundo Gonzalez, Javier Bertucci, Benjamin Rausseo, Daniel Ceballos, Claudio Fermin, Antonio Ecarri, Luis Martinez, Jose Brito, and Enrique Marquez.
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In the early hours of Sunday, several opposition candidates cast their votes in the Venezuelan presidential elections. Below are some of their statements.
ANTONIO ECARRI: The candidate for the Pencil Alliance Party exercised his right to vote at the Republic of Ecuador school in the San Martin neighborhood in Caracas.
“It makes me very happy to see this voting center full of people. I have been informed that throughout Venezuela there is a huge number of people voting,” the former councilman told journalists after voting.
“I am very pleased to participate in this process through which we are experiencing a new Venezuela. This process is historic. You can’t imagine how something as small as voting can generate a very large effect,” Ecarri said.
“I hope the Venezuelan political class is up to the level of civility demonstrated by our great people,” he added.
DANIEL CEBALLOS: After voting at the Andres Bello High School in Caracas, the candidate from the Popular Will Party called on citizens to go out and participate in the electoral process.
“The important thing is that we have a great victory for democracy, and that is what I am observing at the voting centers,” he said.
EDMUNDO GONZALEZ: The candidate of the far-right Democratic Unitarian Platform (PUD) stressed the importance of the presidential elections that are taking place on Sunday, July 28.
“Without a doubt, it will be the most important democratic expression of the Venezuelan people in recent years. That is why I reiterate the invitation to exercise the right that each one of you has to transform your future,” he said in a video posted on the social network X.
ENRIQUE MARQUEZ: The opposition Focused Party candidate urged citizens to turn out en masse to vote to change the course of the country.
“With our vote, we will have the possibility to change the course of the country and we will do it in peace and tranquility. This is something that is priceless,” he said after casting his vote at a center in Caracas.
Marquez thanked the Venezuelan people for deciding their country’s future by participating peacefully and massively “regardless of social classes and political positions.”
The former president of the National Electoral Council (CNE) also confirmed that the voting process is “extremely fast and friendly,” emphasizing that “there is no excuse” for not participating in the elections.
JOSE BRITO: The Venezuela First party’s candidate denounced that members of Vente Venezuela, a far-right organization led by Maria Corina Machado, attacked presidential candidate Daniel Ceballos and his wife at the Andres Bello High School in Caracas.
“That fascist group sent people to attack… The actions against Ceballos outside the electoral precinct are totally unacceptable,” he stressed.
“Even if I have to give my life, I will not allow the country to slide into violence,” Brito said in statements to the press after casting his vote.
JAVIER BERTUCCI: The Change party’s presidential candidate cast his vote in Carabobo state, from where he confirmed the speed of the voting process on Sunday.
“In the company of our families and in our homes, let us wait patiently for the election results. The citizen participation is very good,” he said.
“Please do not believe the announcements made through social media. Do not sabotage or muddy this historic day with advance, and most of the time, distorted information,” Bertucci emphasized.
“Let us all wait for the night when the electoral authorities announce the results and they are valid. In the meantime, go, vote and return home,” he reiterated.
LUIS MARTINEZ: Nominated as candidate by an opposition coalition that includes Democratic Action and Red Flag, Martinez cast his vote in Aragua state on Sunday morning.
“The voting process is friendly. So far, everything is going normally throughout Venezuela. I have been able to see firsthand that the voting centers have a massive turnout,” he said.
“Everything seems to indicate that this will be the most attended voting event in many years,” Martinez added, calling on the Venezuelan population to continue going to the polls.
CLAUDIO FERMIN: The presidential candidate of the “Solutions for Venezuela” party exercised his right in the elections this Sunday.
“I invite our people to choose. These elections are for choosing. It is our time. It is the citizens who decide. Therefore, I reiterate that it is important that each citizen goes to the voting center so that they can color the results with their own point of view,” he said.
“I make an open and cordial invitation for our compatriots to elect the president of Venezuela today,” he added in statements to the press.
BENJAMIN RAUSSEO. The presidential candidate for the CONDE party cast his vote at the San Antonio de la Florida school in Caracas.
“The entire voting process was very fast and expeditious. I hope it happens like this throughout Venezuela so that the process flows normally and we can express our will,” he said.
“Venezuelans have a great opportunity to reunite through this great democratic celebration. I want this to remain this way and for us not to see the electoral process as a confrontation but as a reunion between all of us who seek peace and harmony to write a new history,” Rausseo pointed out.
Autor: teleSUR/ JF
Fuente: EFE - teleSUR - Globovision - El Universal