Venezuela starts presidential elections

Venezuela is at the centre of the world's attention today for the start of the presidential elections. According to the National Electoral Council (CNE), a total of 21,392,464 Venezuelan citizens are eligible to vote in 30,026 polling stations located throughout the country, reports teleSUR, a partner of TV BRICS.

As of 06:00 local time, 15,767 polling stations opened their doors to receive voters, and the process will continue uninterrupted until 18:00 local time (22:00 GMT). Citizens over the age of 18 are encouraged to exercise their right to vote on a crucial day for the country's future.

The main contenders include Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia of the Plataforma Unitaria Democratica (PUD), as well as the incumbent president and Gran Polo Patriotico (GPP) coalition candidate Nicolas Maduro. Other contenders include Luis Eduardo Martinez, Jose Brito, Antonio Ecarri, Benjamin Rausseo, Claudio Fermin, Javier Bertucci, Enrique Marquez, and Daniel Ceballos.

The CNE organised a significant logistical and technical deployment to ensure the transparency and proper conduct of the electoral process. Some 910 international guests and observers, including the United Nations (UN) Panel of Experts, the African Union, the Council of Electoral Experts of Latin America (CEELA), and others, are in the country to observe the elections.

In addition, prominent former Latin American leaders such as Ernesto Samper of Colombia and Leonel Fernandez of the Dominican Republic have visited Venezuela. Furthermore, special envoys of governments, political parties, and other international organisations from more than a hundred countries are also present in Venezuela to accompany and observe the developments on this election day.

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