The table of political and civil guarantees was pending in the second cycle of dialogue between the 2015 National Assembly delegation and the government of Venezuela. Its installation is scheduled for the next meeting, scheduled for mid-October, when the parties will resume the discussion on the political conditions necessary to advance the negotiation process.
The 2015 AN deputy and member of the opposition delegation, Jorge Millán, confirmed that this instance was not part of the meetings held during this second stage. In an interview with Shirley Varnagy, in Wave Circuit, He explained that it will be in the next cycle when they hope to address in greater depth the issues related to political guarantees.
“On this occasion, the table of political and civil guarantees was not installed, which is the one that is responsible for the issue and we hope that the next cycle, which will be in mid-October, will begin with force the review of all these political guarantee processes”Millan stated.
The pending instance concentrates several of the issues that the opposition delegation considers necessary to restore political participation. Among them is the situation of the leaders who remain outside Venezuelaincluding María Corina Machado, as well as the conditions so that they can return to the country without fear of being detained or persecuted for exercising their political rights.
Also on the table is the lifting of disqualifications and the return of political parties that remained under the control of authorities linked to Chavismo, after decisions adopted by the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ).
Millán ruled out referring to any possible agreement that has not been made public and maintained that the delegation maintains the purpose of recovering the political rights of Venezuelans. When asked about this point, he recalled that since the beginning of the talks they have defended that “all Venezuelans recover their full rights, each and every one of them.”
The deputy stressed that the discussion about these guarantees is directly related to the possibility of moving towards an electoral process.
“An issue that is fundamental for Venezuela has remained pending for us, which is the political guarantees” to “have the necessary columns to go to some free and democratic elections”, he noted.
The electoral issue is also still pending
The date of the presidential elections has also not been discussed during the meetings, although it is part of the negotiation agenda. Millán referred to the announcement made by Jorge Rodríguez, head of the Chavismo delegation, who assured that the elections will be held “within the period established by the Constitution.”
Regarding this statement, the deputy pointed out that there is still no definition within the table. “It is a unilateral declaration, we do not know what he meant by this about the Constitution, but I believe that all Venezuelans are clear that there is a constitutional delay for the people to express themselves and decide who represents them,” he said.
The opposition delegation, Millán explained, is working so that the conditions can be established that allow progress towards elections. To this end, he mentioned the need to have political parties, leaders who can carry out their activity with guarantees and citizens with full rights to participate in the electoral process.
The deputy indicated that These efforts are carried out together with the United Statesa country that is promoting the dialogue process, while it is expected that the political and civil guarantees table will be formally incorporated in the third cycle of talks, scheduled for mid-October.
