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Alert

Soldiers, electoral council officials prevent the press from reporting from polling stations

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 25 April 2010, members of the armed forces and officials of the National Electoral Council (CNE) prevented two press teams from having access to two voting centers. This took place during the opposition's primary elections to elect their candidates to the National Assembly. The incident occurred in the State of Táchira, on the Venezuelan border with Colombia.

Journalists Franklin Vivas, of private TV station Globovisión, and Eleonora Delgado, of the newspaper "El Nacional" and Unión Radio, reported to IPYS that the soldiers, supported by CNE officials, prevented them from entering the voting centers and did not allow them to cover the process.

Both reporters stated they had not been physically harmed, but that their right to keep the public informed was restricted.

IPYS rejects this obstacle to the coverage of the elections, deeming it an attack on freedom of expression and the journalists' right to carry out their work.