CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Former lawmaker Maria Corina Machado, a longtime critic of Venezuela's government, dominated the opposition's presidential primary over the weekend, getting more than 1.
The organizers of Sunday's election to choose the opposition's candidate to challenge President Nicolás Maduro did not declare Machado the winner, but she was far ahead of the nine other candidates.
State-owned television programming sought to present the contest as an “electoral farce” — an assessment far from reality. More than 24 hours after the first voting centers began to close, the National Primary Commission had not released additional results. “What awaits us is an arduous road, we know it. We are all very clear about the nature of the regime we face, and this primary full of obstacles and challenges proved it,” she said. “ the bigger the obstacle they put in front of us, the bigger we get because we are going to overcome all the obstacles.”
David Smilde, an expert on Venezuelan politics at Tulane University, said the primary was a “significant achievement” for several reasons, including forcing political leaders and parties within the opposition “to reach out and speak to the people.”
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