00:00The Supreme Court of Peru has condemned former President Pedro Castillo to 11 years in jail for alleged rebellion charges.
00:21General elections are underway in San Vincent and the Grenadines to renew 15 seats in Parliament.
00:27The election contest is between Prime Minister Ralf Gonsalve's Labour Party and New Democratic Party.
00:36And on Thursday, Pope Leo XIV arrived in Turkey on the first apostolic journey of his papacy.
00:48Hello and welcome to From the South. I'm Alejandra Garcia from Telesur Studios in Havana, Cuba.
00:53We begin with the news.
00:57The Supreme Court of Peru sentenced former President Pedro Castillo to 11 years, 8 months and 5 days for alleged rebellion.
01:14In this trial, former presidents of the Council of Ministers Aníbal Torres and Betsy Chávez have also been convicted.
01:21Let's recall that the crime of rebellion has been considered excessive by international lawyers, arguing that numerous witness and documentary evidence show that Castillo acted in the legitimate exercise of his constitutional powers.
01:34Castillo denounced that his removal in 2022 was a parliamentary coup as it was carried out without obtaining the 104 votes required by the Constitution.
01:46General elections are underway in San Vincent and the Grenadines to renew 15 seats in Parliament.
02:01The election contest is between Prime Minister Ralf Gonsalve's Labour Party and the New Democratic Party.
02:20Polling stations open at 7 a.m. local time and will remain active until 5 p.m.
02:26In this scenario, the electoral register confirmed a total of 101,744 registered voters, 3,625 more than in 2020 election cycle.
02:40The ruling party is seeking a historic sixth term based on the positive achievements of the economic and social agenda of Prime Minister Gonsalves, who is leading in the latest opinion polls.
02:52Election officials have stressed the importance of peaceful and transparent voting.
03:10And in this context, as general elections continue to unfold in the Caribbean nation, we go live with a special envoy, Belen de los Santos, who will tell us more in this significant day.
03:29Hello, Bel. What can you share with us?
03:31Hello, Ale. It's a pleasure to come to you from the Eastern Caribbean, from St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
03:39You were just saying some of the key facts in this general elections.
03:43The people are voting in the 15 constituencies to make up those 15 representatives that will then choose their prime minister.
03:51And you were just mentioning Ralf Gonsalves.
03:54And we are at this moment in the constituency of East Kingstown, a portion of the capital town of Kingstown.
04:02And just a few moments ago, we actually saw the prime minister, Ralf Gonsalves, vote, came here and exercise his right to vote at this school that's right down beside me.
04:14And he came out. He talked to the press very briefly. He talked to Telesur. I hope you saw those images just moments ago.
04:22And what he was saying, first of all, addressing this election day, he was saying that he was seeing a very good election day and that he was hopeful for a good end of this day, particularly for his party.
04:35So those were some of the statements. We also got to talk a little bit more in terms of the regional relevance of what is happening at this moment in the Caribbean.
04:45And the prime minister, as he has done, he talked about he condemned the aggressions that are and the escalation that is ongoing at this moment in the Caribbean.
04:55We talked a little bit more about that, and I hope to share some with you in a few moments.
04:59But for now, we come back to this election. We have a few moments to go.
05:055 p.m., as you were saying, is the closing time for the polls.
05:09But at some polling stations, people are still lining up and that election, that voting will not stop before that and that voting ends.
05:20So afterwards, we will be following the results and we'll be staying here in the capital in Kingstown to see what the results are and also what is the the repercussions of the different parties, the different parties headquarters.
05:37Let's recall, we are seeing two main parties at this election.
05:42That is, of course, the ULP, the Unity Labour Party, led by Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves and also the NDP, the New Democratic Party, whose leader is Godwin Friday.
05:53And that is what is at stake at this moment.
05:56We will continue with all the information in the minutes to come because we are just moments away from the pollings to close.
06:04But for now, Ale, we go back to you.
06:07Thank you, Ale, for all the information.
06:10And now to go even deeper into the importance and repercussion of this electoral process, we welcome expert in foreign politics.
06:18It's El Pamela Pérez Gómez.
06:20Welcome, Edson.
06:21Thank you very much for joining us today.
06:23Hello.
06:25Nice to be here.
06:27Let's jump right in.
06:28What is at stake for the people of St. Vincent and the Granadins in today's elections?
06:34Okay, so this election for the people represents an opportunity of change.
06:44You know, like we are talking about a country that has been governed for around 24 years for the same party, and it has been a very tough road for them.
06:55A lot of controversy after the pandemic regarding unemployment of young people and other economic issues due to also the natural disasters that has faced the island.
07:10So it's an opportunity for the people to choose to vote maybe for an alternate government and be, I mean, like change their government.
07:27And also newly registered and younger voters may be decisive in this electoral process.
07:33What issues tend to matter the most to younger voters?
07:38Okay, so the issues that matter the most nowadays, and it's not just talking about the island.
07:44I think it's a regional, and I will say like a world strike, which is young people asking for opportunities, for opportunities for people, but for young people that are educated and that don't see the opportunities in their country.
08:01And also they are asking for actions towards climate change.
08:04So now also young people in the Caribbean, but in general in the Caribbean and in the island, they are asking for actions against climate change.
08:16And regarding the regional context, how do you think the recent deployment of US military assets in Caribbean waters is affecting regional stability?
08:28And what implications does it have for San Vincent and the Grenadines amid this general election?
08:33So for the regional context, these elections, it's very representative because the island, it's just an example of what is generally happening in the region.
08:48What I mean is they have these issues, economic issues, and also political struggles are also present in other islands.
08:59So it's shared by other countries.
09:01Also, we see in the region weak opposition parties and people asking for electoral transparency.
09:09So there are social tensions around the region due to inequality, unemployment, and especially among young people.
09:15So it represents just what the Caribbean is shouting for, which is transitions, and they are hoping to use democracy as a mean to achieve what they believe it should be done in the society.
09:34So St. Vincent just represents the democratic resilience in the whole region.
09:44Thank you, Itzel, very much for your time hearing from the South.
09:51Thank you very much. Have a nice day.
09:53We were speaking to Itzel Pamela Pérez Gomez, expert in foreign politics, and we stay on topic.
10:02Let's take a closer look at the profiles of the candidates for prime minister in the general elections taking place in St. Vincent's underground.
10:10The United Labour Party's candidate is the current prime minister, Ralph Gonsalves, who was born on August 8, 1946.
10:19Gonsalves studied economics and public policy at the University of the West Indies.
10:25And during his doctoral studies, he spent a year at the Makerere University in Uganda as a research associate.
10:34Gonsalves became prime minister of the country in 2001 and was re-elected in 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020.
10:50And among the candidates for the highest office in the Caribbean country is also Godwin Friday, president of the New Democratic Party and main leader of the opposition.
11:00Friday, let's recall, has been a member of the House of Assembly for the Northern Grenadines constituency since 2001.
11:08And his eligibility as a candidate has been the subject of legal debate as his opponents have argued that his Canadian citizenship could disqualify him.
11:20And also in this context, our special envoy in St. Vincent's underground, Belén de los Santos, spoke to citizens who expressed their public opinion regarding the electoral process.
11:38Let's listen.
11:40I feel confident in what I come to do.
11:44Yeah.
11:45One question.
11:47There's usually a lot of participation in Vincentian elections.
11:52Like a lot of people come to vote and it doesn't happen like that in every country.
11:56Why do you think that people are willing to participate?
11:59Like we're seeing right now, it's very early in the day, but people are here in the rain.
12:04They want to exercise the right to vote.
12:06Well, it's our given right to come and vote for whatever party we had to vote, yeah.
12:16Do you think that people are eager to participate in that process?
12:22Some people, yeah.
12:24Okay.
12:25Yeah.
12:26Did you follow the rallies and the campaign process as well?
12:30I don't follow the rally.
12:31I just come to vote and that's it.
12:33Then I go to my home, to my work and that's it.
12:35Okay.
12:36Final question.
12:37We are in East St. George, right?
12:39What do you think are the main characteristics of this place that we are at right now?
12:45The?
12:46The main characteristics.
12:48How would you describe it to an outside person?
12:52East St. George in particular?
12:54Outside person?
12:55Uh-huh.
12:56Well, you are welcome.
12:57The outside people are welcome.
13:00Yeah.
13:01And now we have a short break coming up, but first remember you can join us on TikTok
13:07at Telesur English where you'll find news in different formats, news updates and much
13:11more.
13:13Stay with us.
13:14Welcome back to From the South.
13:27On Thursday, Pope Leo XIV arrived in Turkey in the first apostolic journey of his papacy.
13:32The Pope was welcomed with honors by Turkey's Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmed Nuriyer
13:39Suy and as he disembarked from the plane.
13:43His visit is steeped in symbolism commemorating the 1700th anniversary of the First Consul of
13:51Nikaya and featuring key meetings calling for peace and dialogue in a region considered
13:56by many to be the cradle of Christianity.
14:00With stops in Ankara, Esnik and Istanbul from Thursday to Sunday when he will depart for
14:06Lebanon, the Pope seeks to emphasize the search for peace and dialogue during his meetings
14:12with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and with leaders and representatives of other
14:17faiths.
14:24And in other information, the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, warned on Wednesday
14:29that children in Lebanon continue to be exposed to violence despite the ceasefire between Israel
14:34and Hezbollah that marks its first anniversary this week.
14:38According to the agency, 13 children have died and more than 140 have been injured since
14:43the agreement came into force.
14:45In this regard, the organization's representative in the country, Marco Luigi Corsi, pointed out
14:51that the attacks continue to put children at risk and stated that kids are far from being
14:57safe.
14:58UNICEF called on all parties to respect the ceasefire and take immediate measures to prevent
15:03further violations, as well as to strengthen the protection of the minors and provide them
15:08with psychological support.
15:10Despite the 2024 agreement, Israel has carried out bombings in Lebanese territory, claiming
15:16to be targeting Hezbollah actions that have been criticized by Beirut and the United Nations.
15:22And like this, we have come to the end of this news brief.
15:29Remember, you can find these and many of the stories on our website at telesurenglish.net.
15:34Also, we invite you to join us on social media.
15:37We are on Facebook, X, Instagram, Telegram and TikTok as well.
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