Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Caracas (Agenzia Fides) – The Bishops of the country are making various appeals to the faithful, asking that they go out to vote on November 23, in a spirit of peace, without tension or violence. On Sunday, some 17 million Venezuelans will vote to elect 22 governors and 328 mayors, in addition to 233 regional legislators, for a total of 603 seats, according to the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela. Around 130 international observers and thousands of national witnesses will be present at the voting booths. 7,500 troops from the 4 military components will be deployed, as well.
Cardinal Jorge Urosa Sabino, Archbishop of Caracas, has asked the National Electoral Council (CNE) to adopt a democratic attitude, one of impartiality, in elections this Sunday. The Prelate says that the Electoral Power should show that it is looking out for the good of the country and that it does not respond to any kind of partiality. Likewise, the Cardinal said that the voting results should be released in a timely fashion and should correspond to the will of the Venezuelan people who have voted. “The CNE has its big day on November 23. They should truly show the country that they have a democratic attitude and are unbiased.”
The Cardinal also expressed the importance of voting, as it “involves electing people that most closely govern us.” He also advised Venezuelans to elect those persons that show signs of being good governors, “in their history, their behavior, their attitude.” The Cardinal called on the Venezuelan people to go out and vote , exercising their right to vote in a “truly free” manner. “May there be no threats, retaliations, revenge...pressures from public organizations, private persons, to sway the vote one way or the other,” the Cardinal said.
The President of the Plenary Council of Venezuela, Msgr. Ovidio Perez Morales, has also exhorted Venezuelans to exercise their right to vote, because “we cannot for the country to mend on its own, we have to work on it ourselves, through our participation.” The Prelate explained the importance of these elections “in our current situations, in which the elections will be special...as we are not only electing good candidates, but much more is at stake: the future of this country as a democratic nation, tolerant, and pluralist, or one with a Communist plan like that of the socialism of the 21st century that failed in the last century. In this sense, he also recalled the most recent document issued by the Bishops' Conference in October, which insisted on the moral obligation to vote (see Fides 17/10/2008).
The Archbishop of Coro and Vice-President of the Venezuelan Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Roberto Luckert, also asked the CNE to correct its illegal practices of the past. “They are the ones who have established the rules, so let them work to keep them, too.” “If we want to live in democracy and freedom, we have to perfect democracy and the only way is by each Christian going and voting in peace and tranquility,” he said. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 19/11/2008)
