Maria Corina Machado asked Venezuela’s Supreme Court to lift her disqualification: “The ball is in Maduro’s hands”

The presidential candidate of the main opposition coalition in Venezuela, Maria Corinna Machado, He asked the Supreme Court to reconsider his disqualification, which prevents him from competing for popularly elected positions.

Without notifying the media and after days of avoiding answering whether she would go to the Supreme Court, the anti-Chavista leader chose at the last minute to adhere to the disqualification review process agreed between the regime and the largest anti-Chavista bloc, the Platform for Democratic Unionism (PUD), which was received Requests to this day.

Upon leaving the Superior Court of Justice, Machado announced to a small group of journalists that after his appearance in court, “Now the ball is on our side.” to the venezuelan dictator, Nicolas MaduroHe expected that he would be responsible for determining whether he adheres to the agreement with the international community to ensure “clean” elections in 2024.

“Maduro will have to decide whether or not it will be counted, and whether or not he is complying with the agreements he has made with actors in the international community,” he added. He added: “The regime is afraid to measure itself, and is looking for excuses to prevent it from relying on me.”

He also mentioned that Its exclusion, imposed by the Comptroller’s Office in 2015, was not notified until 2030In his case, he did not request an appeal against a specific document, because he insisted that it did not exist.

“Since there is no notice of disqualification, I will not appeal this action. What we have established is a fait accompli, a claim to say that there is no disqualification (…) We We will do everything in our power to hold fair and free elections.“, he noted.

Machado swept the opposition primary on October 22, when he won 92.35% of the votesTherefore, he hopes to compete in the elections in the second half of next year against Chavismo, whose candidate has not been officially announced, despite their assumption that Maduro will seek a third term.

“Venezuela has great hope at the end of this year 2023, because we have always built this on the basis of truth, and with truth we will be able to liberate our country,” Machado said. “What is the truth? That the regime is terrified of measuring itself, terrified of measuring itself. “They are looking for excuses to prevent them from relying on me.”

He added: “I am very clear about my mandate, and that we will implement it, but here there are no excuses, there are no excuses for them to leave the electoral path.” “Our strength is in the people. My legitimacy is in the people. The authorization I received was on October 22, and I am authorized by the Venezuelans.”

He concluded: “We are committed and focused on doing our part, and my role is to organize and mobilize citizens and create a great national agreement.”

United State She celebrated Machado’s decision in a message on the social network before, in an election that was condemned by the bulk of the opposition and described as fraudulent.

The diplomatic headquarters posted: “We commend Maria Corina Machado and the other candidates for their courage and willingness to appeal the decision to disqualify them.” He added: “Now it is up to Nicolas Maduro’s representatives to show their commitment to holding competitive and inclusive elections.”

(With information from EFE and AFP)