Panama City, Jul 28 (EFE).- Hundreds of Venezuelans living in Panama cast their votes at the Venezuelan diplomatic mission in the Panamanian capital on Sunday, many of them excited and eager for change and a “free Venezuela.”
Since early this morning, with the luck of a sunny day and no rain, 1,816 Venezuelans certified to vote went to the electoral center at the Venezuelan Embassy to exercise their right to vote, although some reported that they were unable to do so.
Wrapped in the Venezuelan flag and singing their country’s anthem, voters gathered peacefully for several hours in front of the tower where the South American country’s embassy is located, after voting and attending a religious service.
Panamanians passing by the picket honked their horns to express their support for the Venezuelans, who in turn filled the area with chants such as “and it will fall, it will fall, this Government will fall; and this Government has already fallen, this Government has already fallen.”
Ricardo Contreras, one of the voters and spokesman for the ‘Convzla’ (With Venezuela) command in Panama that supports the opposition candidacy in the Venezuelan elections, told EFE that there is a lot of enthusiasm among his compatriots who have come to vote after going through “a thousand vicissitudes to get here.”
Contreras described how people arrived “excited” from very early to vote, with “hope,” “faith in God” and waiting for the result of the vote to be “irreversible” with the victory of the majority opposition candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia.
“Here we are from the Venezuelan Embassy in Panama, where more than 1,800 Venezuelans will have the opportunity to vote… we have been awake since 5 in the morning,” Ediee Mujica told EFE, who complained of not having been able to vote because “the Venezuelan regime denied her that right,” but stressed: “Here I am supporting my countrymen and all those who want a decent and free Venezuela.”
This week, the leader of Convzla denounced the difficulties for Venezuelans to vote abroad, which he said is reflected in Panamanian territory, where, he explained, only 1,816 voters are called to the polls out of the 60,000 who currently reside permanently in the country.
Contreras said that only 1,816 people were allowed to vote “because of the obstacles that the National Electoral Council (of Venezuela) placed on the embassy.”
He recalled that one of these rules was “a test of permanent residence, when the electoral law states that only a Venezuelan citizen with a laminated ID, valid or expired, can vote.”
“The regime is so afraid of listening to the voice of the people, especially here in Panama, where we are a very important community; but here we are supporting all those who are a key for us who cannot vote,” Mujica said.
In that same perspective, Venezuelan voter Sofía Alfaro de Murillo told EFE that she and all her fellow countrymen hope that this year “the result they have been waiting for for many years will be achieved.”
“This is a day of celebration for everyone because the government elected today is not a government of a few, it is the government for all Venezuelans, wherever we are,” said Alfaro.
At the Venezuelan Embassy, four tables were set up to accommodate approximately 450 people each, starting at 6:00 a.m. local time (11:00 GMT).
Venezuela is holding elections today, with ten candidates running, including President Nicolás Maduro, who is seeking his second re-election, and the main leader of the opposition and traditional polls, Edmundo González Urrutia, replacing the disqualified María Corina Machado.
.
#Hundreds #Venezuelans #vote #Panama #desire #change #free #Venezuela
2024-07-30 08:32:01
