PAN leaders call for the “liberation of Venezuela” just hours before the election

The National Action Party (PAN) strongly condemned “the actions carried out by the dictatorship in Venezuela, which hinder and limit electoral observation in the country.”

The PAN referred to the ban on entry into Venezuela of former presidents of various countries, Vicente Fox, from Mexico; Mireya Moscoso, from Panama; Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, from Costa Rica, and Jorge Tuto Quiroga, from Bolivia, as well as the former vice president of Colombia, Marta Lucía Ramírez, in addition to legislators from Spain.

“These anti-democratic actions represent a clear violation of the fundamental principles of transparency, citizen participation and respect for human rights. Electoral observation ensures that elections are conducted in a fair, equitable manner and free of any type of manipulation or fraud,” said the Secretary General of the PAN, Noemí Luna Ayala, and the Secretary of International Affairs, Mariana Gómez del Campo.

Regrettably, they added, ”the dictatorship in Venezuela has taken measures that prevent the presence of international and national observers during electoral processes. These measures include the refusal to accredit independent electoral observation organizations, the restriction of access to relevant information and intimidation of those who wish to exercise their right to observe and report irregularities that may occur.”

Marko Cortés, current leader of the PAN, criticized the fact that Maduro appears several times on tomorrow’s ballot.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and her coalition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez have drawn enthusiastic crowds during their campaign to defeat President Nicolas Maduro and end 25 years of Chavismo.

However, uncertainty remains over how Sunday’s election will play out, with Maduro – whose 2018 re-election is widely viewed as fraudulent by the United States and others – seeking a third term in office.

Gonzalez, a 74-year-old former ambassador, has attracted significant support, including from former government supporters, but the opposition and some observers have questioned whether the vote would be fair, given obstacles caused by decisions by electoral authorities and the arrests of opponents.

Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek Saab said Friday he will launch an investigation into opposition leader Biagio Pilieri, who this week said the opposition needs to have voting records – documentation detailing the number of voters – on Election Day.

“Since this is a crime of usurpation of functions that are proper to the governing body in electoral matters (…) The Public Ministry will immediately initiate – if this occurs – a respective investigation and the author or authors of such acts will be #Detained based on what is established in the law,” Saab added in his account on X.

Also on Friday, when the national installation of more than 30,000 polling stations must legally take place, one of the five directors of the National Electoral Council, Aime Nogal, said on her X account that 95.2% of them had already been installed throughout the country.

Meanwhile, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino said that several former Latin American presidents who were going to observe the elections had not been allowed to travel, including Panamanian Mireya Moscoso and Mexican Vicente Fox, because Venezuelan airspace was closed, something that the Venezuelan government later denied.

In parallel, the United States said it is prepared to calibrate its sanctions policy towards Venezuela depending on what happens on Sunday.

Gonzalez and Machado, a 56-year-old industrial engineer, have urged voters to cast their ballots early and hold “vigils” at polling stations until they close. They have said they hope the armed forces will ensure that the results are respected.

The military has long supported Maduro, 61, and his predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez. Defense Minister Gen. Vladimir Padrino said this week that the armed forces will abide by whatever is put into the ballot box.

Maduro, in power since 2013, has said the country has the most transparent electoral system in the world and warned of a “bloodbath” if he loses, comments rejected by Latin American leaders such as Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and former Argentine President Alberto Fernandez.

Maduro’s government has seen an economic collapse and the migration of approximately one-third of the population. He claims that the economic deterioration is due to the sanctions imposed by the United States.

-With information from Reuters.