Venezuela opposition warns elections observers are being blocked
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Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro at a campaign rally in Valencia, Carabobo state, Venezuela, on July 23. Photo: Juan Carlos Hernández/AFP via Getty Images
The Venezuelan opposition is warning that its efforts to sign up electoral observers for this Sunday's presidential vote are being hindered at the last minute.
Why it matters: Polls point to opposition candidate Edmundo González leading by a very wide margin over President Nicolás Maduro, in what could result in the first power turnover in Venezuela in 25 years.
- Yes, but: The electoral body CNE is led by loyalists of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela, the policies of which are widely known as chavismo.
- Opposition leaders say the CNE could try to manipulate the result in favor of Maduro and that it's key to have observers present in as many voting sites as possible.
Driving the news: The accreditation of those observers has hit a major snag, according to opposition members like former lawmaker Delsa Solórzano and lawyer Perkins Rocha.
- They say the CNE is claiming technical difficulties with printing out the confirmation that over 90,000 opposition witnesses need to be allowed in poll sites on Sunday.
- "We're mired in these technical issues, not caused by ourselves, with just hours away from the electoral process," Rocha said late Tuesday.
What they're saying: Latin American leaders this week have publicly called for Maduro to accept Sunday's results if he loses.
- President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil said "for the sake of Venezuela and for the sake of South America" he hopes the electoral process is respected and fair.
- Lula also mentioned he was scared to hear Maduro recently say in a public event that there could be a "bloodbath" if his party loses.
The other side: In response to Lula's statements, Maduro just that "if someone got scared" by his comments, "they should drink some chamomile tea."
- Maduro's son, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, told Spanish newspaper El País this week that he's sure the elections will be in his father's favor.
- But he added that if for some reason his dad ends up losing, "we hand off (power) and become the opposition, done."
Opposition members have been appealing to the powerful armed forces in recent days to not "intervene" as people head to the polls Sunday, suggesting they fear possible coercion from soldiers in charge of ensuring safety around voting sites.
- The head of the armed forces, Vladimir Padrino López, is a Maduro ally.
- If there are claims of fraud after votes are counted Sunday, a case could end up before the country's Supreme Court – led by Maduro loyalists.
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