President Maduro seeks 3rd term in Venezuela presidential election
Visit our website:
http://www.france24.com
Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English
Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/France24_en
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Waylans are gearing up to cast their ballots on Sunday in a tensely awaited presidential election,
00:05an election that opposition supporters believe could unseat President Maduro,
00:09who has been in office for 11 years.
00:12Maduro leads the socialist PSUV party that has run the country for a quarter of a century
00:18and has come to dominate key institutions.
00:22Here in Caracas, some are hopeful for a change of government.
00:25People seem to be convinced and excited to vote.
00:31They have a will and desire to change the political regime we've had for 25 years.
00:39Over the past decade, millions of Venezuelans have fled the country as a result of the
00:44political and economic crisis into which the country descended under the Maduro administration.
00:50These Venezuelans in Colombia wanted to cross the border to vote in the elections,
00:54but the government ordered border closures between the 26th and 29th of July.
00:59It wasn't that we didn't expect it.
01:01They were going to do everything so that Venezuelans could not pass the border,
01:05because they know that the vast majority of Venezuelans who pass
01:08are going to vote against the regime or the dictatorship that is in place in Venezuela.
01:13And so it is not unusual, but it doesn't matter.
01:15We're going to get through no matter what.
01:18Maria Machado, who enjoys wide popularity,
01:22came out on top in the opposition primary last year,
01:25but has been barred from holding public offers.
01:28Her coalition's candidate, 74-year-old Edmundo González, is ahead of Maduro in opinion polls,
01:34but some Venezuelan watchers are doubtful this will be reflected in the final result.
01:39Some analysts warn the vote may not be fair, and according to NGO Foro Penal,
01:44dozens of people linked to the opposition campaign have been arrested since the start of the year.
01:51Of the 149 arbitrary arrests for political reasons,
01:55135 are directly linked to the national tour
01:59and the actual campaign of Marina Corina Machado with Edmundo González Urrutia.
02:08Maduro, who is seeking a third term in office,
02:11insists that the country has the world's most transparent electoral system.
02:15He has warned of a quote bloodbath if he does not secure a victory.