Venezuela opposition’s main election witness reports minimal incidents

The main witness for the Venezuelan opposition before the country’s electoral commission, Delsa Solorzano, explained late Friday that the percentage of incidents detected during the preparation of polling stations for Sunday’s elections did not reach 1 percent. “Let’s not worry,” Solorzano announced in a press conference reported by Venezuelan media. Solorzano noted that “out of 30,026 tables, his team detected less than 1 percent of incidents (because) our witnesses were there, and because they know how to defend the constitutional rights of Venezuelans.” Venezuela holds presidential elections next Sunday in which Nicolás Maduro seeks to consolidate his position in power with a third term, although most opinion polls give the opposition a win, which was forced to make do with the nomination of former diplomat Edmundo González as a candidate after a presidential election. Maria Corina Machado, the winner of the primary, was disqualified by the judiciary. “This deserves congratulations to the witnesses,” added Solorzano, González’s election witness, before insisting that “this percentage, thank God, is very low.” Among the incidents he reported were examples of polling stations being installed early or technical problems reading the electronic witness accreditation code, “but to be able to talk about a pattern there must be a very high percentage” of these. “It is very good news because it means that our witnesses are there,” the witness declared before calling for voting in Sunday’s election and urging compliance with the law. “Our goal is to avoid rumors and alarms that might suit other candidates,” he said. Most polls show González winning by as much as 26 points over Maduro, which would open the doors of Miraflores Palace to the opposition 25 years after the triumph of the Bolivarian Revolution led by Chavez, who has since ruled for 14 years. Chavez enjoyed widespread popular support in most elections, but he had to face several coup attempts in 2002, even spending four days in prison.