00:00And in Venezuela, the electoral race is entering its final moments.
00:05Let's go with our special envoy, Yunus Öner, for the latest details.
00:10Hello, good evening Ana.
00:13Can you hear me?
00:14Yes, Yunus, I can hear you.
00:15Good evening from...
00:16Very well.
00:17Good evening from Carabcas, Venezuela.
00:22Today, the Minister of Defense of Venezuela has received a delegation of the Carter Center
00:30in the ministry.
00:31The delegation comprised of eight members, headed by Jean Lincoln, and she is the superior
00:40advisor for the Latin American and the Caribbean.
00:44The minister received them in his ministry with the warmest words.
00:49He said he was very happy to receive them as they were invited by the National Election
00:54Council, and he explained to the delegation how the process is continuing, and specifically
01:01the so-called Republic Plan.
01:04The Republic Plan means that the armed forces, the Bolivarian National Armed Forces of Venezuela
01:11take care of the security before, during, and after the elections.
01:17That means they safeguard the voting machines, they watch over the election centers, they
01:24protect the citizens while they're on the way to the election centers, and after the
01:30election, they also take care of the machines when they are being transferred to the National
01:35Election Council.
01:36So this is called the Republic Plan, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers are being deployed
01:43to realize this Republic Plan.
01:47And that will happen mainly on July 24, announced the minister, when the official deployment
01:53starts, I think with a parade that will take place here in Caracas to, like, finally announce
01:59the final stage of the elections.
02:03The delegation of the Carter Center was informed about this plan.
02:08Remember, the Carter Center has a long history of assisting elections here in Venezuela.
02:14That started in 1998, and since then, the center has joined seven different elections
02:21or referendums here in Venezuela, and it has been known always for providing quite objective
02:27reports.
02:28For instance, despite general anti-Venezuelan propaganda, the Carter Center in 2006 acknowledged
02:35in a public report how safe and trustable the electronic voting system was.
02:43And in 2012, the center also published a report stating an increasing confidence by the citizens
02:50into this election system generally.
02:53That's why the National Election Council has welcomed, has invited them, actually, to join
03:00the elections on July 28 as international watchers.
03:05So they were provided today with details of how this Republic Plan works.
03:10They will visit other institutions as well.
03:13They will also meet with political actors.
03:16And the minister, that's something I think noteworthy.
03:19The minister also described to them how the atmosphere here is.
03:22I heard him stating that the atmosphere is full of joy, it's full of enthusiasm, and
03:29his ministry is actually looking very much forward to execute this Republic Plan.
03:34He repeatedly said that the armed forces love to take part in this plan.
03:40He emphasized that it is a civic plan, that the National Election Council has the lead,
03:47has the command on this, that they execute the plan below their command, but that the
03:53army loves to assist the voting process.
03:56And he also emphasized that they welcome the elections with a democratic mood, and actually
04:02they would love even to have more elections, the minister said, as elections are a way
04:08that the people of Venezuela express their political will, decide on their government.
04:14And that is something, he said, that moves the society away from violence.
04:19That was quite noteworthy, that the minister of defense really displayed joy and enthusiasm
04:30for the upcoming elections, and of course, he would call anyone to vote there, his counterparts
04:38were foreigners, so there were no votes in that reunion at that time.
04:42But to underline it, the meeting seems to have been productive.
04:46The Carter Center members have not held a press conference afterwards.
04:50They just left the meeting after one and a half hours approximately, and will continue
04:55their contacts.
04:57Thank you very much, Yunus, for all your remarks ahead of the presidential elections on July the 28th.
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