- Presidential elections are being held in Venezuela. Venezuelans in Australia were the first to vote in the presidential elections. Venezuelan authorities expelled former presidents and parliamentarians | Main photo: EFE/ Miguel Gutiérrez
This week, presidential elections are taking place in Venezuela. Venezuelans living in Australia were the first to exercise their right to vote from that country. Gabriel Mijares went to vote at the Venezuelan Embassy in the capital city, Canberra.
The head of the National Electoral Council (CNE) Aime Nogal reported that 31 voting centers were relocated two days before the presidential elections in Venezuela. These changes were made in some schools located in 14 states of the country.
And in the sports field, swimmer Alfonso Mestre was in charge of opening the participation of the Venezuelan delegation in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Mestre did not qualify in his debut in the 400-meter freestyle, but he will have a new opportunity in the 800-meter event.
Below are the highlights of the week:
1. Venezuela holds presidential elections
This Sunday, July 28, presidential elections will be held in Venezuela, in which Edmundo González and Nicolás Maduro will compete, among eight other candidates.
The National Electoral Council (CNE) enabled a total of 30,026 polling stations, which were installed on July 26.
Approximately 635 electoral observers were present during the elections, including the panel of experts from the United Nations (UN) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
Venezuelans living in Australia were the first to exercise their right to vote from that country. Gabriel Mijares went to vote at the Venezuelan Embassy, located in the capital city, Canberra.
The Venezuelan addressed a few words to his fellow countrymen to encourage them to go out and vote. “Everyone go out, it’s the golden moment,” said the young man to the Venezuela Vota team.
The voter said he travelled from Brisbane, Australia, a journey of approximately 11 hours. He also said he exercised his right to vote even though it was -3 degrees Celsius.
Opposition political leaders have denounced that the installation of polling stations for the July 28 presidential elections, scheduled for July 26, was carried out amid irregularities.
Delsa Solórzano, president of the Encuentro Ciudadano party, reported that the installation of the voting tables began before the established time, which was 8:00 am.
“In accordance with the provisions of the Venezuelan legal system, the act of installing the voting tables is at 8:00 am. It is prohibited to install them before the scheduled time. We reiterate to the witnesses and members of the table that the provisions of the Electoral Table Manual must be complied with,” Solórzano said in a message posted on his X account.
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino announced on Friday, July 26, that the plane carrying five former Latin American presidents was prevented from taking off to Venezuela to participate as electoral observers in the July 28 elections.
“A Copa (Airlines) plane carrying (former) president (Mireya) Moscoso and other former presidents to Venezuela has not been allowed to take off from Tocumen while they remain on board, due to the blockade of Venezuelan airspace. Likewise, another Copa flight to Panama from Caracas has not been allowed to take off,” the Panamanian head of state reported on his official X account.
The former presidents who were on the plane are Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga (Bolivia), Marta Lucía Ramírez (Colombia), Vicente Fox (Mexico), Miguel Ángel Rodríguez (Costa Rica) and Mireya Moscoso (Panama), who are part of the Freedom and Democracy Group.
The ruling party and the opposition closed their campaigns ahead of the presidential elections held on July 28 with rallies held on July 25 in the city of Caracas.
The candidate for the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), Edmundo González, held his closing campaign event in the company of opposition leader María Corina Machado on the main avenue of Las Mercedes.
For his part, the candidate for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), Nicolás Maduro, gathered supporters of the ruling party on Bolívar Avenue, where he gave the closing speech of his campaign.
The head of the National Electoral Council (CNE) Aime Nogal reported on July 26 that 31 voting centers were relocated two days before the presidential elections in Venezuela. These changes were made in some schools located in 14 states of the country.
On its X account (formerly Twitter), it indicated that these were “logistical relocations,” although it did not elaborate on the reasons that led to the decision. So far, the CNE has not made any statement on the matter, nor has it even officially reported the changes of centers.
The announcement came hours after the installation of polling stations for the elections began, as well as the preparation of the centres for the day of July 28.
The executive president of the Association of Airlines in Venezuela (ALAV), Marisela de Loaiza, reported on July 25 that operations will function normally during the presidential elections on Sunday, July 28.
“We had the meeting that we normally have every week, and one of the agenda items was the flights for Sunday. There is a document sent by the Ministry of Defense that says that there will be strict border control from midnight on Saturday, July 27, but that is complied with by air operations, so nothing changes,” said de Loaiza in an interview with Unión Radio.
The ALAV representative confirmed that the schedule will continue as planned and revealed that flights, both entering and leaving the country, are fully booked.
Opposition leaders denounced an escalation of persecution by Venezuelan state agents on July 27, the day before the presidential elections in the country.
In Miranda state, the political party Vente Venezuela reported on its social networks that Humberson López, director of logistics and member of the Comando con Vzla, along with his companion, Yaremis Gámez, were detained while distributing logistics in the city of Charallave, in the Cristóbal Rojas municipality of Miranda.
Political representatives of the Miranda state warned that both leaders were allegedly detained by officials of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin). According to reports, relatives did not know the whereabouts of López and Gámez by the afternoon of July 27.
Swimmer Alfonso Mestre and boxer Jesús Cova were in charge of opening the participation of the Venezuelan delegation in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Mestre did not qualify in his debut in the 400-meter freestyle, but he will have a new opportunity in the 800-meter event.
The Venezuelan delegation waved the country’s flag as it passed along the Seine River in the Olympic Games’ opening parade. In a video shared by the Venezuelan Olympic Committee (COV), the athletes can be seen boarding the boat that takes them on the journey along the river.
The athletes who will represent the country in the Olympic competition were seen on the boat. Among them were Douglas Gómez, Leonel Martínez, Joselyn Brea, José Maite, Jesús Cova, Katherine Paredes, Elvismar Rodríguez, Anriquelis Barrios and Julio Mayora. The last two were in charge of carrying the tricolor flag.
In The newspaper We present you a summary of the most important information of the day, which you should know at the national and international level.
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2024-07-29 04:21:58
