2024-03-23 01:58:57
Venezuela’s opposition leader María Corina Machado has chosen a replacement candidate for the planned presidential election in around four months because of her exclusion. University professor Corina Yoris should run against head of state Nicolás Maduro because there is no ban against her, Machado said on Friday (local time). The period for registering presidential candidacies with the National Electoral Council (CNE) began on Thursday. It expires on Monday.
Machado was chosen by a large majority as the opposition candidate for the presidential election in internal primaries in October. However, she was banned from holding public office for 15 years because of alleged irregularities during her time as a member of parliament. At the end of January, the Supreme Court confirmed the decision.
Maduro’s authoritarian government wants to “block her path to the elections,” said Machado. “But they will not succeed. We are determined to move on and do everything we have to do to stay on this path and fulfill a mandate,” said the 56-year-old. Yoris is a professor of logic and argumentation theory at various universities.
Arrests of opponents of Maduro have recently increased. Two of Machado’s close associates were arrested on Wednesday. Arrest warrants were also issued for seven other people on her team. On July 28th, the birthday of the late ex-President Hugo Chávez, a decision will be made about the future head of state of the South American country.
The oil country Venezuela has been in a serious political and economic crisis for years. The security forces are taking tough action against government opponents. The economy of the once prosperous country with rich oil reserves is suffering from mismanagement, corruption and sanctions. According to the UN, more than seven million people have left Venezuela in recent years because of poverty and violence.
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