Venezuelan rallies press for Machado’s return and election date
Hundreds rallied in four cities as interim leader Delcy Rodriguez pledged elections during a transition to democracy but gave no timetable.
Hundreds of supporters rallied in Caracas, Valencia, Maracaibo and Merida on Sunday, calling for opposition leader Maria Corina Machado’s safe return to Venezuela and for presidential elections.
Machado has been in exile for nine months. Her party said on Monday night that she had made three unsuccessful attempts to return. The government denies blocking her, and the available account does not establish what prevented the attempts.
Interim leader Delcy Rodriguez told the United Nations General Assembly that elections would be held as part of a transition to “full democracy”. She did not announce a date, leaving the timing of a vote unresolved.
Machado was barred by courts from contesting the last presidential election. Her stand-in candidate was widely believed to have won nearly two-thirds of the vote, while former president Nicolas Maduro claimed victory.
More than three dozen political prisoners were released late last week after a second round of US-backed talks between the interim government and opposition. The release followed negotiations, while supporters’ calls for elections and Machado’s return remain unanswered.
