Juan Carlos Delpino calls for maintaining a “peaceful climate” in Venezuela after arrests during campaign

Caracas, Jul 15 (EFE).- The head of the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela Juan Carlos Delpino urged on Monday to maintain a “peaceful climate” in the country, following opposition candidates denounce arrests, reprisals and intimidation during the political campaign, in view of the presidential elections on July 28.

“Preventing the peaceful development of campaign events with arbitrary arrests, obstacles to free movement, reprisals and intimidation threatens the exercise of political rights. For this reason, we call for maintaining a peaceful climate and equality in the electoral campaign,” said the rector, quoted in a press release.

He also stressed that in order to guarantee a “free and fair election”, all candidates and supporters “must be able to move and assemble freely, without fearing for their safety or being subjected to intimidation, coercion, and sanctions not provided for by law.”

He also urged “to stop the excessive actions that have affected merchants, transporters and activists”following the main opposition coalition, the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), denounced the closure of food establishments and hotels following serving its leaders, including its candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia.

Between July 4 and 14, a total of 71 people were “arbitrarily” detained during the first 10 days of the campaign, according to a preliminary report published Monday by the NGO Laboratorio de Paz.

Of the total, 48 of the people arrested were “linked to the provision of goods and services for the campaign” of González Urrutia, who has been accompanied in the campaign events by the opposition leader María Corina Machado.

Thirteen days before the presidential elections, the electoral rector recalled that “security forces, authorities and other public institutions” must be “at the service of the State and not of any political faction.”

“This rule requires maximum respect during election campaigns to avoid taking advantage,” he added.

Several of the 10 presidential candidates have accused the current president, Nicolás Maduro, of taking advantage of the situation in this race – in which he will seek a second re-election – especially for the use of state resources, such as the full broadcast of all his campaign events by the public channel Venezolana de Televisión.