Фото: пресс-служба правительства Венесуэлы
Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodriguez delivered an address in which she pledged to hold elections in the country.
“Elections will take place. All those stipulated by our Constitution, organised by a renewed electoral body and under the supervision of the entire world,” she said.
No dates for the elections were announced. According to Rodriguez, the country’s “political horizon” should not be determined solely by a date on the calendar, but by a set of preliminary conditions. Among other things, she mentioned legal reform and the need to ensure that elections do not exacerbate existing conflicts.
“Elections must not become a problem or take us back to the times of confrontation,” she added.
Rodriguez also said that talks were under way with representatives of the National Assembly elected in 2015. The discussions include political guarantees for future electoral processes, reform of the Supreme Court and other issues.
The interim president also stressed that she was best placed to oversee the transformation of the system because she knew it from the inside.
Rodriguez’s address was released just minutes before the first press conference by opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado, who returned to Venezuela on Sunday. She is calling for elections to be held in 2027.
Machado welcomed Rodriguez’s remarks on elections but disagreed over who should carry out reforms in the country.
“They have turned Venezuela into a haven for criminal groups and the international mafia. Those who drove more than 9 million Venezuelans out of the country and destroyed families, subjecting them to hunger, humiliation and pain, are now saying they intend to build a system based on justice,” she said.
Machado will nevertheless take part in government and opposition initiatives aimed at organising elections.