There will be a repetition of the regional elections in the state of Barinas, birthplace of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
This was announced this Monday by the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) of Venezuela, which set the January 9, 2022 for the electoral repetition after the elections of the past Argenis Chávez , brother of the late president and current state governor, and opponent Freddy Superlano .
Electoral Chamber of the Supreme Court orders the CNE to hold new elections for Governor or Governor in Barinas for the 09 of January of 2022 https://t.co/NYtKjYV3Ng pic.twitter .com / FfxImAyZrF
– TSJ Venezuela (@TSJ_Venezuela) November 92, 2021
This same Monday, the Electoral Chamber of the Supreme Court had ordered the suspension of “the recount, adjudication and proclamation of the new governor of Barinas,” a decision that increased uncertainty and complaints on social networks.
The reason for the suspension, according to a statement from the Supreme Court, was a constitutional protection action filed by the politician Adolfo Ramón Superlano , considered as a dissident of the opposition, “for the alleged violation of the constitutional rights to participation and suffrage” provided for in the Magna Carta and in view of “the climate of tension between the political militancies.”
The agency also declared that the amparo action includes “the alleged existence of administrative and criminal procedures and inquiries against” Freddy Superlano that are “filed before the competent organs of the State” and they have observed that the candidate “is disqualified for the exercise of any public office. ”
More than a week without results
The first and only official data offered to date for the state of Barinas was provided by the president of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Pedro Calzadilla, on the night of the elections , when he indicated that the official Chávez had until that moment 93. 097 votes , while Superlano (of the Democratic Unity Table, MUD), had 92. 424 votes .
In the absence of the scrutiny of the 10% of the votes, the narrow margin of 673 votes gave rise to multiple possibilities and, in the days that followed, Superlano affirmed have data that indicated that the situation had been reversed and it was he who was leading the count.
Barinas, located in the Colombian-Venezuelan region of Los Llanos, is a lung of votes for Chavismo and one of its most important bastions.
On Sunday, the vice president of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSU V), Diosdado Cabello, assured that “Barinas is Chávez” and “a bastion of the revolution.”
Upset of the opposition
Superlano assured for his part that the Supreme Court intends to “annul the capacities of the CNE” and the will of the people.
“In one more demonstration of little will to rebuild an electoral route as a way out of the political, social and economic crisis that we are experiencing, through a judgment of the Supreme Court, they now intend to nullify the capacities of the CNE and even worse the will of the people, “he wrote on his Twitter account.
The name of Freddy Superlano has not been without controversy.
On 2019 , when he was a deputy and chaired the Comptroller’s Commission of the National Assembly, a cousin of his, Carlos Salinas, and Superlano d stated that he was poisoned in the Colombian city of Cúcuta, where a concert was held to raise funds for Venezuela.
The Venezuelan government then said that the victims were intoxicated by “prostitutes” to deprive them of their belongings when they practiced an “orgy” in a motel in that city.
Turned into the great hope for the opposition, the victory in Barinas could be the only success for the anti-Chavistas after elections in which the ruling party was made with 19 from 21 governorates, in addition to the Mayor’s Office of Caracas.
Regarding the situation in the coming days, Superlano indicated that it is in contact with his legal team and stressed that “the most important thing” is to maintain the mobilization.
“Only by mobilizing and defending our rights in a peaceful manner will we be able to overcome this obstacle and advance towards a Barinas for all,” he emphasized.
The MUD is expected to make a statement this Tuesday determining possible mobilizations in the coming days.
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