Provisional Candidate González Urrutia Registered for Venezuela’s Presidential Elections Despite Challenges

Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) announced on Tuesday that Eduardo González Urrutia will be registered as a candidate for the presidential elections on July 28 by the Democratic Unity Roundtable. The decision came after Corina Yoris, the chosen candidate of María Corina Machado, was disqualified from competing in the elections.

Elvis Amoroso, president of CNE, first dropped the name of Edmund Gonzalez Urrutia from the list of registered candidates, followed by the party Democratic Unity Table (MUD). Despite efforts to register Yoris throughout the process, the coalition acknowledged that they had exhausted all avenues to do so by the deadline and decided to provisionally register Edmundo González Urrutia to ensure their political rights until they are able to register their preferred candidate.

The registration of González Urrutia brings the total number of candidates to 13 for the upcoming elections, including current president Nicolás Maduro. The CNE reported that a total of 37 political parties, some in coalition, nominated their candidates during the process without facing any restrictions. The possibility of replacing González Urrutia with another candidate will be considered starting next Monday, provided that there are no legal or administrative obstacles.

The practice of nominating a provisional candidate is common in Venezuela and is intended to secure a place on the ballot. Despite challenges faced by opposition coalitions, they are determined to continue participating in electoral processes and have their preferred candidates registered for upcoming elections.