Caracas, Oct 29 (EFE).- Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, assured on Thursday that elections will be held in the country (though without clarifying a specific date) under a «renewed» electoral authority. She also instructed security forces to ensure that no individual is detained without a judicial warrant, except in cases of caught red-handed offenses.
«There will be elections, all those mandated by our Constitution, organized by a renewed electoral authority and witnessed by the world,» she declared in an address to the nation, delivered shortly before the first press conference announced by opposition leader María Corina Machado.
Dressed in white and speaking in a measured tone, Rodríguez, who assumed power after the capture in Caracas of deposed leader Nicolás Maduro (2013-2026), argued that her country’s political horizon «is not measured as a date on the calendar,» a veiled reference to demands for immediate elections, «but rather through a sequence of objectives» to be achieved.
Among other goals, she highlighted «a framework of genuine democratic coexistence and peace, an orderly legal reform, guarantees of fair participation conditions for all political forces in the country, and elections that serve as a solution rather than a driver of irreconcilable conflict.»
She emphasized that «elections should not become a problem or pull us back into times of confrontation that no one wants anymore.»
The Venezuelan opposition, particularly represented by Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia, is demanding that presidential elections be held in 2027.
The administration of the United States President Donald Trump supports a roadmap aimed at renewing key bodies such as the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) and the National Electoral Council (CNE) in the coming months. This path should lead Rodríguez to declare the presidency vacant and open a six-month window to call for elections, a senior State Department official said on Monday.
Additionally, Rodríguez affirmed that political activity is guaranteed and instructed security forces not to arrest anyone without a court order, except when caught in flagrant offenses. She also defended the right to peaceful protest while calling for respect toward police officers.
«We all have the right to think differently without fear of reprisals of any kind,» Rodríguez said, adding that «the responsible practice of politics is guaranteed for everyone.»
The leader noted that she has promoted the release of hundreds of political prisoners through an amnesty law. Furthermore, she reiterated her proposal to reform the anti-hate law to review cases of individuals prosecuted under this legislation, which she acknowledged had been applied abusively. EFE
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