Electoral issues, prisoner releases demanded after Venezuela dialogue

Opposition groups and non-governmental organizations in Venezuela are urging that electoral reforms and the release of political prisoners be central to ongoing dialogue with the ruling party. While the initial phase of talks concluded with agreements on renewing the Supreme Court and recovering Venezuelan assets abroad, these key opposition demands remain unaddressed. The group Unión y Cambio insists that electoral matters should be the "first point of discussion" in future negotiations. Tomás Guanipa, a deputy, emphasized the importance of urgently discussing electoral issues and fundamentally changing the National Electoral Council, currently seen as aligned with the ruling party, to pave the way for presidential elections.

Prominent opposition leaders María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia are not part of these discussions. However, some parties within their coalition, such as Voluntad Popular and Primero Justicia, have expressed support for the ongoing conversations. The NGO Acceso a la Justicia expressed regret that political prisoners were excluded from the negotiation agenda, despite valuing the agreement to renew the Supreme Court. Ali Daniels, the NGO's director, stated there was "no justification" for their exclusion.

Despite this, Dinorah Figuera, an opposition lawmaker leading the delegation in the dialogue, pledged to work towards further political prisoner releases in the "coming days." According to the NGO Foro Penal, Venezuela currently holds 382 political prisoners. The opposition party Movimiento Por Venezuela (MPV), also not represented in the dialogue, proposed restoring the autonomy of the Central Bank through these negotiations. MPV's secretary-general, Simón Calzadilla, requested that the process include appointing "capable professionals, not linked to parties or the government" to lead the Central Bank and also suggested appointing a Finance Minister.