Post #1431

Far-right Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado reversed her stance and submitted a last-minute appeal of her official disqualification from public office. “[The Venezuelan government] is looking for excuses to prevent me from participating. That is why we are here today, to show that they are not going to force us to abandon the electoral route […] the ball is in their court,” said Machado upon exiting the offices of the Venezuelan Supreme Court on Friday. Her decision to present her case before the country’s highest court comes after first refusing to challenge her political prohibition, arguing as recently as Thursday that there was “nothing to appeal.” Upon leaving the Supreme Court premises, Machado insisted to local reporters that her appeal was to demonstrate that her ban on running for office “does not exist.” The filed document was later posted online. Ahead of a deadline imposed by the United States, government negotiators reached an agreement last month with the hardline opposition allowing for the country’s Supreme Court to review the cases of candidates presently disqualified from running for public office. https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/venezuelan-far-right-candidate-reverses-course-appeals-election-disqualification/