The Constituent Assembly, controlled by legislators members of the chavist party, called for presidential elections in Venezuela. Diosdado Cabello, the second most powerful member of the ruling party, introduced a decree ordering the National Electoral Council (Consejo Nacional Electoral – CNE) to bring forward the elections before April 30th. The decision is now in the hands of the National Electoral Council, chaired by Tibisay Lucena, which will set a date and coordinate the process in the coming months.

The announcement of the presidential elections takes place amid uncertainties. The main parties of the coalition party Mesa de Unión Democrática (MUD), threatened to be invalidated by order of President Nicolás Maduro, are in the dilemma of re-registering in the Electoral Branch. To abide by the rules of the CNE is contradictory for the opposition. The reason for this is that during the peace dialogues with the Government that took place in the Dominican Republic, MUD insisted on an urgent renewal of the members of the CNE before participating in the elections.

The advance of the electoral process happens at the worst moment for the opposition, without primaries and without relevant candidates. Leopoldo López is under house arrest and Henrique Capriles was disqualified from holding public office for 15 years.

The repercussions

The most relevant countries in Latin America, members of the Lima Group, disapproved Venezuela’s Constituent Assembly decision. The nations consider that the celebration of elections before May prevents them from being ‘transparent and credible’ and lack ‘legitimacy and credibility’. At the same time, Mexico announced that it is withdrawing from negotiations in the Dominican Republic between the Government of Nicolás Maduro and the political opposition in Venezuela, in which it played the role of guarantor.

‘We demand that the presidential elections are convened with adequate anticipation, with the participation of all Venezuelan political actors and with all the corresponding guarantees, including the participation of independent international observers. Elections that do not meet these conditions will lack legitimacy and credibility’, says the Lima Group statement, signed by the governments of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Saint Lucia.

The United States also expressed its disapproval of the decision made by the National Constituent Assembly, which is considered to be an ‘illegitimate’ institution by the American government. U.S Department of State spokewoman, Heather Nauert insisted on the need for ‘free and fair’ elections. She also stated that ‘we support a real, complete and fair election system and not the illegitimate Constituent Assembly that was established by President Maduro’.