María Corina Machado’s platform, winner of the primaries on October 22, 2023, in Venezuela, has denounced the “electoral blockade” that Venezuelan citizens living in Spain are facing in order to vote in the presidential elections on July 28. They have requested the support of the Spanish Congress for a “fair electoral process.”
The spokesperson for the Comando Mundo con Venezuela, Corina Gatti, a platform led by opposition leader María Corina Machado, along with representatives of the Plataforma Unitaria Democrática, submitted a letter to Congress on Thursday, calling for “fair elections” and reminding Spain of its participation in the international conference on Venezuela’s political process to support democratic elections.
They denounce the “abuses of the Nicolás Maduro regime to prevent free elections” and the “electoral blockade” faced by Venezuelans living in Spain, who are required to go through bureaucratic procedures to register and cast their vote, which “very few can fulfill.”
“The National Electoral Council, which is the governing body of elections, had established a period for foreign electoral registration between March 18 and April 16. However, starting on March 18, the consulate was not open, and it was only on March 26 that the process began with many obstacles,” emphasized Corina Gatti. She details that Venezuelans are being asked for a residence of more than five years, housing registry, or valid passports.
“Many people do not have these documents because obviously there are many Venezuelans who recently arrived and many of them are applying for asylum,” highlights the spokesperson, lamenting that only 0.5% of eligible Venezuelan voters in Madrid – where 140,000 Venezuelans reside – have registered.
Demand for Support from Spanish Congress Parties
In this regard, they seek the support of all political parties to extend the registration deadlines that ended on April 16. Additionally, they met with Belén Hoyo, a member of the conservative Spanish party PP.
The mobilization of these opposition platforms against the Nicolás Maduro government will continue next week before the Senate and other Spanish institutions after carrying out protests in front of other parliaments such as Argentina’s or the Uruguayan Consulate.
“The goal is to raise awareness and request the support of democratic factors from all countries to ensure compliance with the Barbados agreement, which stipulates free and transparent elections with the participation of the opposition candidate,” emphasizes Gatti, reiterating that María Corina Machado must be recognized as the opposition’s presidential candidate in Venezuela.
