Venezuela government slams result of opposition primaries, questions voting process

(24 Oct 2023)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Caracas, Venezuela - 24 October 2023
1. Venezuelan National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez waiting for news conference to start
2. Various of Rodriguez showing charts and figures as alleged evidence of fraud during opposition primary
3. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Jorge Rodriguez, president of Venezuelan National Assembly:
“Well, those same ones now with a different make-up, because that is how the democratic administrations of the United States of America are, those same ones launched the second self-proclamation by means of a pantomime, a farce, a gigantic scam.”
4. Rodriguez at news conference
5. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Jorge Rodriguez, president of Venezuelan National Assembly:
“Since we knew they were planning the farce, we put one person in each one of the voting centers, and we counted one by one, minute by minute, hour by hour. We counted them because we knew what they were coming with.”
6. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado greeting people as she arrives for news conference
7. Various of Machado speaking at news conference
8. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Maria Corina Machado, Venezuelan opposition leader:
"There are some people who are good losers, others who are bad losers and it is already clear what kind of losers (Nicolas) Maduro and his regime are. There has not been an election with greater electoral and citizen scrutiny as the one we have just experienced two days ago. This was an election of the people. The people set up the centers, the people organized, the people transported the material, the people mobilized the people, the people took care of the people."
9. Various of Machado speaking at news conference
10. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Maria Corina Machado, Venezuelan opposition leader:
“The future is built, do not tell me that there are realities that limit us. I hope that what we did on Sunday will be a lesson for each one of us not to put those restrictions on what we are capable of doing. There are two ways of assuming this in life: the ones that tell you ‘well, with these resources I have as far as I can go’. I have another approach, I have to get this far, so let’s see how the hell do we get these resources, but its is here (gestures) we are going to go.”
11. Machado speaking
12. Various of Machado greeting and taking pictures with people as she leaves news conference
STORYLINE:
Venezuela’s government escalated attacks Tuesday on the past weekend’s opposition primary to choose a challenger for President Nicolás Maduro next year, saying the voter turnout claimed by organizers was inflated and amounted to a crime.

Maduro’s government and its allies have spent months hindering opposition efforts to hold their primary election and have banned the now-apparent winner from being a candidate — leaving the effectiveness of Sunday’s poll in doubt.

The attacks on the legitimacy of the primary also could sow fear among voters already wary of government reprisals for participating in the polling.

National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said the partial results showing participation of at least 1.6 million voters were mathematically impossible given the number of available voting centers and the time it takes a person to cast a ballot.

“Since we knew that they were planning the farce… we put a person in each of the voting centers and we counted one by one, minute by minute and hour by hour," Rodriguez said Tuesday.

María Corina Machado, a longtime government foe and former lawmaker, already has declared herself the winner of Sunday’s polling after results showed her far ahead of nine other candidates.
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