Opposition leader Juan Guaido has issued a call to international governments and media organizations to keep their eyes on the country on January 5, as the National Assembly prepares to hold its first session of the 2020 year and elect its new president.
Guaido will likely be voted as the president of the legislature, given that the opposition controls the National Assembly.
In the statement, Guaido argues that international observers of developments in Venezuela “are no strangers” to the regime’s repeated attempts to derail “the process of democratic restoration” underway in the country, and suggests that a similar attempt will be made on January 5 to nullify the legislative vote.
The statement reads:
… the vote [on January 5]… must be respected. For this reason, I respectfully ask that the international community and multilateral organizations pay special attention to Venezuela on this important day.
On December 17 of last year, the National Assembly approved a law allowing the legislature to meet quorom virtually: that is, to allow legislators to be “present” during sessions and vote remotely. The law was approved within the context of the regime’s persecution of opposition legislators, some of whom have been forced into exile.
Deputy: “No Doubt” Guaido Will Win Jan. 5 Vote
National Assembly deputy Stalin Gonzalez said today that he has “no doubt” that Guaido will be elected to his second term as president in the January 5 vote.
Gonzalez currently serves on the National Assembly’s executive committee, and is a member of the Un Nuevo Tiempo party.
Speaking to Union Radio, Gonzalez was asked if the legislature would allow deputies to take advantage of the new rule regarding virtual quorum, to which he replied:
… it’s a possibility. I’m sure that [even] without it we’ll be able to re-elect Juan Guaido… I’m sure that, just with the deputies that we have here [in Venezuela], we’ll be able to reach [quorum] and form the executive [committee].
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