Despite the criticism, Manuel Rosales defended his last-minute candidacy for the presidency of Venezuela

Discount Manuel Rosales, competitor to Hugo Chavez In 2006, on Tuesday, he defended his candidacy for the presidential elections that took place in Venezuela last July. Submitted at the last minute Without obtaining the support of the opposition leader Maria Corina MachadoAnd banned from participating in the elections.

“I had to make a decision to open the way for Venezuelans to vote or to abstain from voting, and for Maduro to stay there for another six years without doing anything else,” Rosales said in his first statements to the press after his candidacy after the elections. midnight.

Rosales, 71, filed the nomination at the last minute with his Un Nuevo Tiempo (UNT) party, after access to the automated platform for nominating candidates was blocked. The Democratic Unionist Program (PUD) – which brings together the main opposition parties, including UNT- He never made it and was left without proposing to Corinna Joris.

Joris, an 80-year-old academic, was nominated by Machado to replace her because of her political exclusion.

The National Electoral Council has not yet made a decision on the siege, which was condemned by the National Democratic Union Party, which has not yet announced whether it will support Rosales.

Machado reiterated on Tuesday that his candidate was Academician Joris and avoided addressing Rosales directly.

“Words of appreciation to María Corina Machado, a social activist who has traveled a difficult path, and not only for her, but for her work team (…) Words of appreciation and great respect for Doctor Corina Llores,” said Rosales, who did not rule out following the coalition’s guidelines.

He said: “If I ask for the platform, agree, decide anything, I am on the platform, and from there I do not move an inch.”

“I was in the DUP the whole time, we were promoting the primaries, we supported the results, We support Maria Corina Machado“We offered the card to Corina Llores, and we honored it,” Rosales said at a press conference.

But he said he could not “close the door” on Venezuelans, leaving them with no choice for the presidential elections scheduled for July 28.

“We fought until the end to score it, so that we are here to be able to build Tracks that we have all longed for for many years.”Detained.

Likewise, he said his intention is not to replace anyone or remove the leadership of other political leaders, something that Machado and Joris expressed appreciation for.

Machado confirmed that he will remain on the electoral path, Without explaining how it would do so, given the impossibility of registering its candidate within the deadline set by the National Electoral Council.

Regarding Rosales' request, the former representative avoided responding and insisted on several occasions that her candidate and that of the Democratic Unionist Party was still Corina Llores, even though she was unable to register in the National Electoral Council system.

(With information from AFP and EFE)