The President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, celebrated his re-election to office alongside a large crowd that gathered at the Miraflores Palace from early in the evening, to await the first bulletin of the National Electoral Council.
“National independence triumphed,” said the re-elected president, while emphasizing that “they could not overcome the sanctions, they could not overcome the aggressions, they could not overcome the threats. They could not overcome the people of Venezuela now and they will not be able to do so.”
He declared that “fascism in Venezuela, land of Bolívar and Chávez, will not pass,” and claimed that “we were not born on the day of the cowards, of the lukewarm and the timid, we were born on the day that the light of the Liberator shone in this country,” in reference to the criticism of some international figures.
“Thank God for this victory, which is the victory of the people, who deserve it. This is your victory, Commander Chavez, this people has never failed you,” he said, emotionally, and promised that “there will be peace, stability, respect for the law and justice.”
“What I ask as president is respect for the constitution, for public powers and for the sovereign life of Venezuela. Respect for the popular will. This is not the first time that they have tried to undermine the peace of the republic,” he said.
Massive attack on the CNE Transmission System
The president took the opportunity to condemn the massive attack on the National Electoral Council’s transmission system “because they wanted to prevent the totalisation of the votes.”
“We know where it was done, we know which country it came from. At this point we know who ordered it. It is up to the Public Prosecutor’s Office to establish the sanctions,” said the president regarding the attack reported minutes earlier by the president of the Electoral Power, Elvis Amoroso, who explained that the delay in the totaling of the results was due to this attempt at sabotage.
Message to the Venezuelan People after the extraordinary democratic day of the 2024 Presidential Elections. https://t.co/I8USaJl9Oc
— Presidential Press (@PresidencialVen) July 29, 2024
“This is not the first time. I have seen this movie several times. It is the movie of the extreme right… today they tried to prevent the bulletin, they tried to sabotage electoral centers, we captured a group of terrorists who wanted to sabotage electoral centers,” but in exchange, “the people said peace, stability and in Venezuela there will be peace for our country,” said the head of State.
Call for national dialogue
Maduro announced that, as he had promised during the electoral campaign, he will issue a decree calling for a Great National Dialogue, which will include all Venezuelans who respect the constitution and the sovereign decision of the people in the recent elections.
In this regard, he said that he will give priority to economic dialogue, to continue generating wealth; he will also call for social dialogue, to set the agenda and approve the anti-blockade law to recover workers’ income.
Likewise, he will open a cultural dialogue, in order to reposition the values of Venezuelan nationality and identity; and of course political dialogue, “with everyone,” but he set as a condition that they respect the constitution and the institutions, that they respect the decision of the people of July 28.
He announced that the decree on dialogue will also call for elections on August 25 so that communities can choose the projects they want to develop.
