It’s scheduled for April 22, Maduro is favored to be reelected for another six-year term.
It’s likely despite enormous hardships faced by Venezuelans because of US economic and political war on the country, aiming to replace Bolivarian social democracy with fascist tyranny.
The NYT lied saying “most top challengers have been barred from running,” adding, “It is unclear whether opposition parties will participate in the election.” Washington and its right-wing regional allies disgracefully claimed “a dictatorship was being established.”
“Since then, the government has consolidated power further, ordering potential rivals jailed or barring them from running for office.”
“In December, the Constituent Assembly decreed that political parties that wanted to run must have participated in previous elections.”
No legitimate candidates are barred from running.
Former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles was barred for misconduct. Leopoldo Lopez is a convicted criminal for leading violent anti-government protests—earlier imprisoned, currently under house arrest.
Parties boycotting last December’s municipal elections must re-register with electoral authorities. Eligibility requires them to collect signatures from 0.5 percent of the electorate in 12 states.
In late January, Venezuela’s Supreme Court ruled against MUD (Democratic Unity Roundtable) running a joint ticket in April—for “double affiliation,” holding membership in two parties at the same time, the court adding, “In the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela one cannot be a member of two political parties at the same time, because the interests of one and the other could coincide in some aspects, but there will always be distinctions, which make this unethical and inoperative.”
The ruling puts MUD’s future in question. Individual opposition parties must run their own candidates instead of a single coalition leader representing them.
Expecting to lose, three opposition fascist coalition parties boycotted last December’s municipal elections. Maybe they’ll pull the same stunt in April, again crying foul.
The Times cited anti-Bolivarian political analyst Dimitris Pantoulas, disgracefully claiming Venezuela’s electoral commission lost credibility.
He lied saying National Constituent Assembly election results were tampered with. The process was open, free and fair.
The Times supports returning Venezuela to its pre-Bolivarian bad old days—opposing its social democracy under Chavez and Maduro.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.” Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.
We can be sure that, no matter how biased the New York Times would like us to believe Venezuela’s elections are, our electoral system is infinitely more rotten. We need go no farther than the 2016 Democratic primary, not to mention the presidential contests of 2000 and 2004. Venezuela has a corrupted vote? What a laugh!