Maduro’s main challenger says he was not invited to the signing ceremony. Instead, the opposition coalition told about the arrest of the mayor who supported the opposition candidate.
A president seeking another term in Venezuela Nicolás Maduro has signed a document with eight other candidates in which the presidential candidates promise to respect the result of next month’s election. Maduro, the autocratic leader of Venezuela, has been accused of punishing his opponents.
Maduro’s main challenger Edmundo González Urrutia on the other hand, was not involved in the signing ceremony, to which, according to his own words, he had not received an invitation. The opposition candidate added in his statement that the agreement signed by the candidates would have been unilaterally imposed by the National Electoral Commission (CNE).
Ally of the administration, head of the CNE Elvis Amoroso read an agreement in the country’s capital, Caracas, which stated the unquestionable will to recognize the results of the July 28 vote. Maduro is seeking re-election for his third term in the elections.
The agreement was signed by Maduro and eight other candidates who are nominally in the opposition but have been accused by critics of being minions of the regime.
Dozens of Maduro opponents arrested
The PUD coalition, represented by Gonzalez Urrutia, announced on Thursday that authorities had arrested the mayor of Ayacucho in the western part of the country after he expressed his support for González Urrutia.
The authorities have arrested numerous Maduro opponents and dissidents. The opposition has condemned the arrests of nearly 40 political and social activists this year.
In April, the human rights group Foro Penal warned of a “significant increase in persecution” in Venezuela during the elections. According to a recent calculation by Foro Penal, there are 278 “political prisoners” in Venezuela.
The country’s administration has not commented on allegations of arbitrary arrests, instead accusing the opposition of a conspiracy against Maduro.
CNE director Amoroso said Thursday that the government will not send the EU another invitation to send election observers unless sanctions against high-ranking Venezuelan officials are lifted. Venezuela had previously withdrawn the invitation for election observers.
Source: AFP