Venezuelan Supreme Court Continues Hearings on Presidential Elections
Hearings at the Venezuelan Supreme Justice Court, Aug. 9, 2024. Photo: X/ @CcIrreverente
August 9, 2024 Hour: 11:14 am
‘The dispute is not to be resolved on social media… We have to be serious about this,’ former candidate Fermin said.
On Friday, the Supreme Court of Justice’s Electoral Chamber began the third and final day of hearings with former candidates to resolve the disputes arising from the presidential election held on July 28th, in which President Nicolas Maduro was re-elected with nearly 52 percent of the votes.
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According to the schedule, the Bolivarian leader is expected to attend today. Previously, Maduro confirmed that he will indeed appear before the Supreme Court to deliver 100 percent of the electoral records in the possession of the Great Patriotic Pole.
Today’s session started with the appearance of former candidate Frederick Villegas (Focused on the People). Additionally, the judges expect the presence of politicians such as Hipolito Abreu (Tupamaro), Ilenia Medina (Homeland for All), Vanesa Montero (We Are Venezuela), Eucaris Centeno (Authentic Renovation), Vidalco Bolivar (Social Democracy), Nazarena Rojas (Green Party), Jose Tovar (Fall in Love with Venezuela), Casto Gil (People’s Electoral Movement), Eileen Gonzalez (Future Venezuela), Sixto Rodriguez (Communist Party), Henry Hernandez (Venezuelan Popular Unity), and Ricardo Sanchez (Alliance for Change).
On Thursday, former candidates Javier Bertucci (Change Party), Daniel Ceballos (Arepa), Claudio Fermin (Solutions for Venezuela), and Antonio Ecarri (Alliance of the Pencil) were present at the hearings.
In statements to the press, Ceballos emphasized that “Maria Corina Machado’s website lacks legality,” explaining that the Venezuelan far-right’s site attempted to usurp the authority of the National Electoral Council (CNE).
From that website, Machado and her activists published over 9,000 alleged electoral records, which are full of inconsistencies, said the former Arepa candidate, who urged Venezuelans “to be realistic and not fall for that kind of fantasy again.”
Fermin, the former candidate of Solutions for Venezuela, stressed that the Electoral Chamber is the only body authorized to resolve the disputes related to the July 28th elections.
“The dispute is not to be resolved on social media or in a virtual court on websites. It would be undignified for it to be settled by the heads of state or ambassadors of six or seven foreign powers or by the first random person we meet around the corner who happens to agree with us. We have to be serious about this,” he said.
“It’s incomprehensible that those who claim to have electoral records do not submit them to the authorities. I insist that the only institution to resolve the election disputes is the Electoral Chamber,” Fermin emphasized.
Last week, the Supreme Court summoned the 10 former presidential candidates to appear, including far-right politician Edmundo Gonzalez. Supported by major transnational information corporations, however, he rejected the results of the 2024 elections and self-proclaimed himself “president of Venezuela.”
Despite being required to appear before the authority, Gonzalez did not attend the Electoral Chamber on Wednesday. The representatives of the political parties supporting him also did not submit any records or evidence of the alleged electoral fraud or of his supposed victory.
teleSUR/ JF Sources: VTV – teleSUR
