Venezuela: Election of justices of the peace kicks off

teleSUR English

In Venezuela, everything is ready for citizens to elect 15 thousand peace judges for the first time on December 15th. Our correspondent with the details.

Transcript

00:00We reported in Venezuela is holding a first-time election of judges of peace.

00:04And for this we are going live to Caracas with our correspondent Gladys Quesada

00:09to have all the details as this election day kickstarts in Venezuela.

00:13Let's see.

00:14Hello Gladys, welcome.

00:21Hello Luis, thanks for the time and the contact here with you from the south

00:25and the opportunity to tell to our audience what is going on here in Venezuela.

00:29Actually, I'm not in Caracas precisely, I'm in La Guaira, which is the coastal

00:35state that welcomes all foreigners that comes to Venezuela

00:39and that has to land in the airport Simón Bolívar.

00:43Now I'm at Nahuatl, which is one of the many coastal towns here in La Guaira.

00:49And as you can see, people are forming a line since early times in the morning.

00:54They are just lining up for this voting center.

00:57They are going to choose among 300 candidates for their justices,

01:03you know, the peace justices that are going to be chosen today.

01:06And out of those 30 justices, there are going to be, well, six enforced justices

01:14and six candidates to be substitutes of those ones.

01:18And maybe people are just asking themselves, what about this new voting in Venezuela?

01:23Well, first of all, the justices, the coming justices of peace,

01:28they are going to be mediators and negotiators in conflicts regarding the community,

01:35the people and those who have no legal binding.

01:39And that's to say, for example, intra-familiar issues and conflicts in the neighborhoods.

01:45And that's a way to ensure that those who have to take the decisions regarding a conflict,

01:51that they know the people and they know the circumstances of their community

01:55and their own people and towns, as you can see.

01:59So this was convened by the National Electoral Council,

02:03alongside with the communal authorities here in Venezuela,

02:07and in accordance with the constitution and the law for the communes

02:12that was enacted in Venezuela with the constitution of 1999.

02:17As you can see, people are lining up.

02:19This is early morning for a Sunday here in Venezuela,

02:23because this is a coastal and beach enclave,

02:26and also because it's really, really early, but people are lining up.

02:30And I was asking to the authorities of this voting center,

02:35and they were telling me that they have 24,000 voters,

02:39because this is the only center here in Nahuatl

02:43and is receiving people from early in the morning.

02:46And it will be open until 4 p.m.

02:49Those are the guidelines for today.

02:52Those are the time for opening the voting centers at 8 a.m.,

02:56and they will be closing at 4 p.m.

02:58Also, I have to say that this is not the only one.

03:014,862 communal circuits are going to be doing the same today.

03:08On Sunday, they're going to be choosing their candidates for peace justices and the substitutes,

03:15because the idea is that every commune has a justice piece

03:20and someone that can take in for them in the case of a conflict.

03:24Also, I want to say that this is one process

03:28that is going to be held for voters over 15 years of age,

03:33so there are no other limitations.

03:36Everyone in the community can come,

03:38and as you can see, people are coming with their families

03:40and coming with the children and the elderly.

03:43Also, I have to say that this is one of the many activities

03:48that the popular will, the popular government is enacting

03:51to give more democracy to the people,

03:53to give them more power on their decisions

03:57and how to manage not only the resources

03:59as the other popular consultations on the communes,

04:02but also to do little and micro governments here in Venezuela

04:08and to test popular will and popular governance.

04:12I have to say that this is having place all over Venezuela

04:16and even in the indigenous communities,

04:18because they are going to have their own voting systems,

04:21because it's going to be held under their traditions,

04:25under their languages and under their ways,

04:28because the idea is to give people more power

04:32and not to impose, not to enhance vertical ways of power

04:38and governance here in Venezuela.

04:40As you can see, there is all the information.

04:43You have the diagrams, you have all the info

04:46and the pictures of how to come and vote,

04:49the requisites and, of course, the mandatory documents

04:54as the identity cards and other primordial documents

04:59that you need to come and vote.

05:02So those are the data, that's the information.

05:06If you have any questions, Luis?

05:08It's very early in the morning,

05:10but what is the take of the people in this election?

05:12Because nothing comes to mind that something like this

05:15has ever happened in the world,

05:16that people are electing their judges

05:18that will deal with the issues at their community level.

05:21So what's the take of the people about what is happening today

05:24and what can they provide for their communities?

05:32Well, first of all, they are really, really happy

05:35that they are having this last communal activity

05:39prior to the end of the year.

05:40Let's recall that Venezuela is holding

05:42this kind of consultations for the people

05:44and the communities since April.

05:47So there have been around three or four consultations

05:51and even they've chosen the financing,

05:55they have chosen even the projects

05:57they want to give that financing.

05:59But today they're choosing the justices

06:02that are going to meet with the people

06:04that are going to mediate in their issues,

06:06in their communal issues.

06:07They are happy and they are also really focused

06:11in having this election

06:12and to see the outcome of this development

06:16of the popular will here in Venezuela.

06:18This is a way of horizontal power

06:21and that's an experiment and that's a newness

06:24because this is not happening any other place in the world,

06:27only here in Venezuela.

06:29And this is being enacted by President Nicolás Maduro Moros

06:33that has been saying that people need to have the power

06:36and this is a way to give continuity to the projects

06:39and to the ideals of Commander Hugo Chávez

06:42also here in Venezuela.

06:45So now this is the end of this report

06:47but we will have more information

06:49in upcoming reports and contacts

06:51because this is a full day coverage.

06:54So I'm telling this to you and to our audience,

06:56stay tuned with TELUS or English for more details

06:59of what is going on in Venezuela today,

07:01Sunday, December 15th.

07:03Back to you, Luis.

07:04Thank you, Laris.

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