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Sergio Garrido will be the first non-Chavista governor of Barinas since 1998.
The Venezuelan opposition achieved this Sunday a political triumph of great symbolism by conquering the government of Barinas, the home state of the late President Hugo Chávez.
The candidate of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), Jorge Arreaza, acknowledged in a message posted on his Twitter account that he had failed to prevail in the voting, even before the National Electoral Council (CNE) offered its first bulletin official.
“Barinas, my dear. The information we receive from our PSUV structures indicates that, although we increased the number of votes, we have not achieved the objective. I heartily thank our heroic militancy. We will continue to protect the Barinese people from all spaces,” Arreaza wrote.
Shortly following, the official Venezuelan television station of Television echoed the announcement.
If this announcement is confirmed with the official results of the CNE, Sergio Garrido, the candidate of the Mesa de Unidad Democrática (MUD) coalition, will be the first opponent to occupy the government of Barinas since 1998.
The voting this Sunday in Barinas took place because of a repetition of the elections held on November 21, in which the opposition had won but which had been annulled by the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ).
In a November 21 ruling, the high court recognized that the then opposition candidate Freddy Superlano had obtained more votes than the candidate for reelection Argenis Chávez, a Chavismo candidate and brother of the late President Hugo Chávez, but argued that the elections had to be repeated. elections because a previous disqualification imposed by the Comptroller’s Office weighed on the opponent.
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