By IANS/EFE,
Caracas : Venezuela’s Oct 7 general elections will be patrolled by 139,000 soldiers, the head of the military strategic command, Gen. Wilmer Barrientos, said Monday.
The deployment seeks to provide security and help organize the elections efficiently “so that no inconveniences arises”, he told state television.
He said that a system has been coordinated with the Attorney General’s Office to respond to possible electoral crimes Oct 7, so that those involved in such incidents can be escorted to a specific facility where charges will be brought against them for this type of infraction.
“We can’t let the line of voters be held up,” Barrientos said.
He said the military will be there to guarantee peace and calm, and said it will act “strongly against any focus of violence”.
He also asked people to wait until the “arbiter speaks” and that they respect the results.
“We’re getting ready very conscientiously, with a great deal of professionalism, with a lot of patriotism, so that the electoral process can be carried out within the parameters of peace and tranquillity,” he said.
Almost 19 million Venezuelans are eligible to cast their votes to elect the president who will lead the country between 2013 and 2019, with incumbent Hugo Chavez – in office since 1999 – and opposition standard-bearer Henrique Capriles, as the favourites.