Venezuelan Interim President Juan Guaidó has called for a referendum (popular consultation or the People’s Vote) that will take place in parallel with the December 6 parliamentary elections promoted by the illegitimate Nicolás Maduro regime. Horacio Medina, a member of the Popular Consultation Organizing Committee, said that the event will take place on December 7-12 in two phases, one digital and one in person.
The referendum, Guaidó said, “is not a struggle for power; this is a fight for dignity. It is not a right or left fight, of Guaidó against Maduro; it’s for the dignity of Venezuela.”
“What is up to us is raising our voices and reporting the need for protection,” he added.
Medina explained that the only requirements will be to be over 18 years old, to show an ID card or passport — expired or valid — and that Venezuelans both inside and outside the country will be able to participate. He said that, as the referendum will take a week, it will comply with COVID-19 prevention regulations in effect in each foreign country.
He also said that the databases containing the names of participants in this referendum will be protected, and that the Maduro regime won’t be able to access them.
Three questions
The Parliament approved three questions to be included in the referendum. The first one asks whether the voter supports the national and international pressure mechanisms to put an end to the Maduro regime. The second question asks whether the voter rejects the parliamentary elections called by Maduro on December 6. The third asks if the voter supports involving the international community in restoring democracy, helping the humanitarian crisis, and preventing further human rights violations.
According to attorney Blanca Rosa Mármol, a member of the Organizing Committee, the ultimate goal is “to enforce the mandate of the Organization of American States and the United Nations to preserve human rights and democracy in Venezuela.”
“[The popular consultation] is like an electoral process; citizens will have to submit, either in person or electronically, a ‘yes’ or a ‘no,’” Mármol said. “It’s the last constitutional recourse.”
Félix Seijas, head of the Venezuelan polling company Delphos Institute, told the Spanish newspaper ABC Internacional that a poll conducted in early November revealed that the illegitimate Maduro regime has less than 20 percent support.
Seijas told ABC Internacional that, in terms of the participation in the electoral processes, Maduro’s legislative election has only 13 percent, while the referendum exceeds 37 percent.
The referendum’s organizers have contacted groups of Venezuelans in 70 countries. According to Medina, they expect that around 6 million people will take part. Of this number, 3.5 million people are expected to do so from abroad.