Falcon Insists on the Futility of Abstention in Venezuelan Elections

HAVANA TIMES – Venezuelan opposition candidate Henri Falcon reiterated today his criticism of the call of the opposition alliance Mesa de Unidad Democratica (MUD) to boycott the elections on May 20, in which President Nicolas Maduro seeks his reelection, reportó dpa.

“They are calling for a collective suicide, not only of the parties. They are calling for nothing and then what comes?” said Falcon at a press conference as part of his campaign.

The candidate noted that the position of the leaders of the main parties of the MUD is to call for abstention, but affirmed that in the bases of parties like Accion Democratica (AD), Primero Justicia (PJ), Popular Will (VP) and A New Time (UNT) there is a rebellion of activists who want to participate in the elections.

“The political solution of the crisis is in the electoral arena, this is the logical solution. Every day people from the grassroots of those parties (from the MUD) are joining us. They should see the rebellion in the bases because nobody understands the call to abstention,” he said.

The MUD coalition declined to participate with the argument that the elections are fraudulent and there are no guarantees that they will be transparent.

“The government enjoys this call to abstention, even though this is the best chance the opposition has had in 19 years to defeat the government.” No one understands that a leader says he will not vote,” he said. He added: “What is the usefulness of abstention? To abstain for what?”

In addition, he admitted that the National Electoral Council (CNE) “does not enjoy credibility.” “The CNE looks like an office of the (governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela) PSUV, but (on other occasions) we have defeated that CNE with votes,” he said. “Besides, no neo-dictatorial government will proved fair electoral conditions, the alternative is the massive vote.”

Falcon, who is supported by the small parties Progressive Alliance, Movement to Socialism and the Social Christian Copei, just received the support of a new fraction of the National Assembly (Congress) composed of the opposition deputies Melva Paredes, Maribel Guedez, Teodoro Campos, Julio Cesar Reyes and Timoteo Zambrano.