Venezuelans Begin Voting In Subnational Elections

On Sunday, 21.1 million Venezuelans are entitled to elect 23 governors, 335 mayors, 253 legislators, and 2,471 councilors. For the first time since 2007, the opposition participated in the democratic process and called on the population to go to the polling stations.

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"November 21 arrived! The victory target sounds, the heart beats strong. Venezuelans, let's go to vote in peace and harmony and united for the love of our Homeland. Let's vote to win! Let's win to advance!" President Nicolas Maduro tweeted.

Around 30,000 polling stations will be serving citizens from 06:00 to 18:00. The reception of votes, however, could last beyond that time if there are still people in line waiting to vote. The National Electoral Council (CNE) announced that 70,244 candidates are running for 3,082 positions. A total of 329 candidates were registered to opt for the 23 governorates; 4,462 candidates are running for 335 mayors, and 65,453 politicians are running for state legislatures and municipal councils.

Besides the participation of the opposition, other novel elements in these elections are the visit of international observers from the United Nations, the European Union (EU), the Latin American Council of Electoral Experts (CEELA), and the Carter Center. There are also special guests from Asia, Africa, America, and the Caribbean.

The tweet reads, "This is how Venezuela woke up to start the electoral party. A tradition of Chavismo, which starts the engines to go out to vote very early."

The EU electoral mission is led by Portugal's lawmaker Isabel Santos and the Carter Center delegation includes Salvador Romero, who led the Bolivian Supreme Electoral Tribunal during the coup-born regime led by Jeanine Añez.

The participation of over 60,000 opposition candidates configure a new multicenter and diversified political panorama, which proves the democratic character of the electoral process underway. Despite this, voices from Washington, Brussels and Bogota have come forward to disqualify the results of the Venezuelan subnational elections.

"The European Union must respect the legitimacy of the powers of Venezuela in the Nov.21 electoral process. No nation can give a verdict on the validity of a genuinely national and sovereign process. Venezuela defends its rights!," Maduro recalled.