Venezuelan NGO Demands Declaration of Presidential Vacancy, Calls for Elections

The Venezuelan organization Laboratorio de Paz has called for urgent institutional action to declare the "absolute absence" of the presidency and to convene "free, authentic, competitive, transparent, and verifiable" elections. The NGO issued a statement titled "Retaking the Constitution: The First Act of National Reconstruction," warning that the country faces a scenario requiring immediate institutional decisions to restore constitutional order.

The organization argues that the inaction of legislative bodies deepens the institutional crisis. "The omission of the National Assembly in ensuring strict adherence to the Constitution is an example of the urgent need to rebuild institutions to promote efficient material reconstruction of the country," the statement reads. Laboratorio de Paz also emphasized that Venezuela's reconstruction requires not only rebuilding infrastructure but also recovering the rule of law and institutional integrity.

Furthermore, the statement addresses the current political situation, linking it to the necessity of regaining minimal governability and trust for any national reconstruction process. It asserts that without institutional legitimacy, progress in recovering services, infrastructure, and living conditions is impossible. The NGO also questions the legitimacy of political mechanisms that, in its view, substitute popular will or deviate from the current constitutional framework.

"Agreements that substitute popular will and the Venezuelan Constitution are not legitimate. The indefinite prolongation of exceptional situations, without sufficient constitutional basis, weakens institutions and deprives Venezuelan society of its right to democratically decide its future," the organization stated. The pronouncement concludes with a broad call to political actors, state institutions, civil society, the international community, and human rights organizations to support and demand the full restoration of constitutional order in Venezuela.

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No son legítimos los acuerdos que sustituyan la voluntad popular y la Constitución venezolana. La prolongación indefinida de situaciones excepcionales, sin base constitucional suficiente, debilita la institucionalidad y priva a la sociedad venezolana de su derecho a decidir democráticamente su futuro