Expressing their support for Venezuela, China criticized “external interference” after its ally faced opposition from the United States, France, and Brazil for preventing a key opposition candidate from participating in the elections scheduled for July.
During a press briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian called on the international community to play a positive and constructive role in the upcoming Venezuelan election.
“We uphold Venezuela’s national and sovereign independence, endorse Venezuela in conducting the election in alignment with its constitution and legal framework, and oppose any external meddling in Venezuela’s domestic affairs,” he stated.
In a recent development, Venezuela’s opposition party, Democratic Unitary Platform, had to opt for an unknown candidate after failing to register Corina Yoris, an 80-year-old, to run against President Nicolas Maduro, who is seeking a third term.
Last week, during a joint press conference in Brazilia, French President Emmanuel Macron and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva strongly criticized this exclusion.
Macron expressed, “We firmly denounce the exclusion of a qualified and credible candidate from this process.”
Lula emphasized that there is no valid legal or political reason for disqualifying a political opponent from running as a candidate.
“I conveyed to Maduro that the key to restoring normalcy in Venezuela lies in ensuring a smooth electoral process and holding elections in the most democratic manner possible,” he added.
This reaction came following Washington’s disapproval a day before over the bias shown by the electoral council towards “opposition candidates favored by Maduro and his associates.”
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller noted that this action contradicted the essence of open and fair elections that both the Venezuelan people and the global community would recognize as legitimate.
Yoris was the backup plan for the struggling opposition group.
Although PUD leader Maria Corina Machado emerged as the clear winner of an opposition primary in October last year, she was prohibited from holding public office for 15 years by Maduro-affiliated courts on charges of corruption — allegations she disputes as fabricated — and for supporting sanctions against his government.
Thus, she nominated Yoris, a university lecturer, as her replacement.
Unfortunately, due to technical issues, the PUD missed the registration deadline for Yoris, resulting in a last-minute submission of a relatively unknown “provisional candidate.”
Several countries, including the United States, rejected the outcome of Maduro’s 2018 victory citing fraud and lack of transparency, following an opposition boycott.
AFP