Venezuela elections 2021: Maduro calls supporters to vote after the closure of polling stations

President Venezuelan, Nicolas Maduro, on Sunday called his supporters to vote in local and regional elections 20 minutes after the official closing of the polling stations, which aroused criticism from different opposition candidates.

“I call on all those who have their 1×10 list (plan to promote the official vote) to go to the auction of the patriotic, Bolivarian and Chavista offensive throughout the country. To you man and woman who have your list. Mobilization important! To combat, to battle and to victory. Vote to win! ”, Maduro wrote on Twitter.

The head of state published that message at 6:20 p.m. local time (22:20 GMT), that is, 20 minutes after the official closing time, which may be prolonged, according to electoral regulations, only in those centers where there is a queue of voters.

At 18:00 local time (22:00 GMT), the rector of the National Electoral Council (CNE) Enrique Márquez wrote in the same social network that they were closed, although citizens who were at the doors of the voting centers will be able to do so.

“In compliance with the provisions of article 308 of the Regulation of the (Organic Law of Electoral Processes) LOPRE, as of this time, 6 pm, the voting process closes, except at the tables where voters are queued to vote, and we entered the stage of scrutiny, transmission and totalization ”, wrote.

However, Efe found that several voting centers in Caracas remain open, despite not having an influx of voters or queues.

Maduro’s message was replicated by the opponent Henrique Capriles, who tagged in his response to the Electoral Observation Mission of the European Union (EOM-EU) and recalled that the closing time is 6:00 p.m. local time.

The opposition candidate for Mayor of Caracas Tomás Guanipa denounced at 6:44 p.m. that the voting centers were still open in the capital “and throughout the country, without voters in the queues.”

“We call our witnesses and board members to enforce the law “, he alerted.

In a similar sense, the anti-Chavista aspirant to the Government of Miranda (which houses part of Caracas) David Uzcátegui expressed himself.

“Attention Miranda. The regulation establishes the closing of the tables at 6pm if there are no people in the queue. In several regions they do not want to close the centers. We make an urgent call to the CNE “the candidate wrote at 6:46 p.m.

Venezuelans were called today to elect 23 governors, 335 mayors, 253 legislators to the Legislative Councils and 2,471 councilors, in elections in which voters will be able to choose the ruling party or the majority opposition, which has not attended elections since 2017.

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