Venezuela’s opposition confirmed the candidacy of diplomat Edmundo González in July’s presidential election against President Nicolás Maduro in place of disqualified leader María Corina Machado.
The diplomat was registered as a “provisional” candidate for the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), but as reported on Friday, the coalition “unanimously decided to approve his final nomination.”
González Urrutia was registered at the last minute by the majority opposition after denouncing a blockage in the application system.
For this reason, academic Corina Yoris, Machado’s first representative, could not be registered.
Omar Barboza, secretary general of the alliance, on Friday avoided explicitly mentioning González Urrutia’s candidacy to replace Machado.
The trial was carried out in an extension granted by the National Electoral Council (CNE), which was accused of serving Chavismo.
The ambassador was the president of the Democratic Unity Table Party, later replaced by the Democratic Unity Platform, and his candidacy was essentially a “cover” while defining a unity candidate.
Machado’s Vente Venezuela party celebrated the decision on the social network “X” and suggested that the leader would send a message to the country.
Machado won the Pud primaries with more than 90% of the vote and turned to the Supreme Court (TSJ) to review the disqualifications under a mechanism agreed in negotiations between the Maduro government and the opposition.
But the sanction was ratified and criticized by the USA and the European Union.
