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🇻🇪 Venezuela /Elections & Politics

Venezuelan Opposition Party Urges Presidential Election Focus in Dialogue

From El Nacional · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Unión y Cambio, a Venezuelan opposition party, urges prioritizing presidential elections in upcoming dialogue talks with the government.
  • The party advocates for radical reform of the National Electoral Council and the Supreme Court of Justice.
  • Unión y Cambio also calls for the release of political prisoners, aligning with previous opposition commitments.

The opposition party Unión y Cambio is pushing for presidential elections to take center stage in the next phase of dialogue with the Venezuelan government. The party's stance comes after the conclusion of the first round of talks, where agreements were reached on renewing the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) and recovering Venezuelan assets abroad to aid earthquake victims.

The discussion about presidential elections must become the priority of the next phase of conversations between chavismo and the opposition.

— Tomás GuanipaStating his party's main demand for the upcoming dialogue.

Tomás Guanipa, a deputy and leader of Unión y Cambio, stressed that the electoral system must be the immediate focus. The organization believes a "radical" overhaul of the National Electoral Council (CNE) is crucial. Following this reform, Guanipa stated, a timeline for new presidential elections should be established.

Unión y Cambio also views the proposed renewal of the TSJ as a significant step toward dismantling perceived government influence over the judiciary. Guanipa described the Venezuelan justice system as "totally corrupted" and "in the hands of mafias," arguing that changing its composition is vital to prevent government control.

very important

— Unión y CambioDescribing the importance of addressing the electoral system.

The party, which includes former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, plans to identify top academics and legal professionals to nominate for the new judiciary. They also aim to reform court procedures, ensuring judges have stable tenures and that the system becomes more accessible, particularly for the poor.

radical

— Unión y CambioDescribing the desired reform of the National Electoral Council.

Before addressing the dialogue agenda, Guanipa reiterated the demand for the release of political prisoners. He stated that hundreds of individuals remain unjustly jailed, and the party expects progress on their liberation soon. This call echoes commitments made by Dinorah Figuera, who led the opposition delegation in the initial talks, to secure new releases in the coming days.

Changing them is very important at this moment so that there is no control that the government has had over the Supreme Court.

— Tomás GuanipaExplaining the need to reform the judiciary.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Nacional in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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