International
Skeptical opposition participating in Venezuela regional elections
AFP
Venezuela’s opposition will contest regional elections Sunday for the first time in three years but it will do so disunited and unconvinced President Nicolas Maduro will allow the vote to be free.
The main opposition boycotted the last legislative and presidential elections over a lack of free, fair and transparent polls but agreed to take part in Sunday’s mayoral and gubernatorial vote after receiving certain assurances from the government.
For Maduro, those concessions were aimed at securing a measure of relief from the punishing US sanctions against his government, notably the state PDVSA oil company.
Maduro wants to be able to sell Venezuelan oil on the international market, especially in the United States, which used to be the country’s biggest customer.
These elections, while relatively minor, will therefore be a test to see if Venezuela is prepared to take significant steps towards democracy following opposition cries of fraud in 2018 presidential and 2020 legislative votes.
Chief amongst the government’s concessions is the return of European Union observers for the first time in 15 years.
Maduro also agreed to end the controversial protectorate system the government used to strip power from opposition governors — essentially meaning the ruling party was in control of all states.
And while he resumed Norwegian-mediated talks with the opposition in Mexico, they were suspended following the extradition of alleged money launderer and Maduro ally Alex Saab from Cape Verde to the United States.
Maduro also railed against the US State Department earlier this week accusing it of trying to “interfere in Venezuela’s internal affairs” over a press report that the White House had said the elections would be “manipulated.”
– ‘Serious obstacles’ –
These elections are seen as a trial for future election integrity and to see whether the Maduro regime is prepared to allow democracy to run its course, something the opposition says he has not done since the bruising defeat his United Socialist party suffered in the 2015 parliamentary poll.
Yet even if Sunday turns out to be free and fair, and despite the main opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) coalition being cleared to participate following a three-year ban by the National Electoral Council (CNE,) problems remain for the opposition.
Although the MUD has agreed to run, it still insisted the elections “won’t be fair or conventional” due to “serious obstacles” placed by the government.
There is also a lack of unity amongst opposition ranks.
Opposition leader Juan Guaido has not spoken openly in support or against participation.
Last month a former presidential candidate, Henrique Capriles, blasted the “deadly” divisions in the opposition and urged the various factions to settle their differences and support the best-placed candidates.
A united opposition had defeated the government in 2015, he pointed out.
But that call has fallen mostly on deaf ears.
One exception is in Miranda state where last week Carlos Ocariz pulled out of the governor’s race and left David Uzcategui — with whom he has had a long-running feud — as the only opposition candidate.
International
Chile enters runoff campaign with Kast leading and Jara seeking a last-minute comeback
Chile’s presidential runoff campaign for the December 14 election kicked off this Sunday, with far-right candidate José Antonio Kast entering the race as the clear favorite in the polls, while left-wing contender Jeannette Jara faces an uphill scenario, hoping for a comeback that some experts describe as “a miracle.”
The final polls released in Chile—published before the mandatory blackout on survey dissemination—give Kast, an ultraconservative former lawmaker running for president for the third time, a lead of between 12 and 16 points. His opponent, the communist former minister in Gabriel Boric’s current administration, is weighed down not only by the government’s low approval ratings but also by a fragmented electorate.
Although Jeannette Jara received the most votes in the first round with 26.9%, her lack of alliances beyond the left makes it difficult for her to expand her support. Kast, who secured 23.9%, has already brought key figures on board: ultralibertarian Johannes Kaiser (13.9%) and traditional right-wing leader Evelyn Matthei (12.4%), both now backing his candidacy.
Analysts note that although Kast’s support base consolidates more than 50% of the electorate, it does not guarantee an automatic transfer of votes. Populist economist Franco Parisi, who placed third with 19.7%, emerges as the major wildcard. His party, the People’s Party (PDG), is set to decide this Sunday through an internal consultation whether to endorse one of the two finalists.
International
Trump says asylum decision freeze will remain in place “for a long time”
U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Sunday that the suspension of decisions on asylum applications—implemented as part of his order to “halt” immigration from third-world countries following Wednesday’s shooting in Washington—will remain in effect “for a long time.”
The president declined to specify how long the freeze, imposed last Friday by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), would last. The suspension affects individuals waiting for an asylum ruling from that agency, though it does not apply to cases handled by U.S. immigration courts.
The delay is part of a series of measures enacted by the Trump Administration after a shooting on Wednesday in which an Afghan national allegedly opened fire on the National Guard in Washington, D.C., killing one officer and leaving another in critical condition.
Trump has ordered a permanent halt to immigration from 19 countries classified as “third-world.” He also indicated on Sunday that “possibly” more nations could be added to the list.
“These are countries with high crime rates. They are countries that do not function well… that are not known for success, and frankly, we don’t need people from those places coming into our country and telling us what to do,” Trump said, adding: “We don’t want those people.”
USCIS had already announced on Thursday a “rigorous review” of green cards held by migrants from 19 “countries of concern,” including Afghanistan, Cuba, Venezuela, and Haiti.
International
Sri Lanka and Indonesia deploy military as deadly asian floods kill over 1,000
Sri Lanka and Indonesia deployed military personnel on Monday to assist victims of the devastating floods that have killed more than a thousand people across Asia in recent days.
A series of weather events last week triggered prolonged torrential rains across Sri Lanka, parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra island, southern Thailand, and northern Malaysia. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said Monday in North Sumatra that “the priority now is to deliver the necessary aid as quickly as possible.”
“There are several isolated villages that, with God’s help, we will be able to reach,” he added. Subianto also stated that the government had deployed helicopters and aircraft to support relief operations.
Floods and landslides have claimed 502 lives in Indonesia, with a similar number still missing.
This marks the highest death toll from a natural disaster in Indonesia since 2018, when an earthquake and subsequent tsunami killed more than 2,000 people.
The government has sent three military ships carrying aid and two hospital vessels to the hardest-hit regions, where many roads remain impassable.
In the village of Sungai Nyalo, located about 100 kilometers from Padang, the capital of West Sumatra, floodwaters had receded by Sunday, leaving homes, vehicles, and crops coated in thick mud.
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