Monsignor Ubaldo Santana, the chair of the Venezuelan Bishops' Conference (CEV) on Good Friday asked the candidates running for municipal and regional elections next November to "ponder over" the electoral promises they are to make.

Santana described the Holy Week as an auspicious time "to think about such matters in the presence of God," Efe quoted.

"In this Holy Week, they should sit in the churches' benches, in front of God, and think about the things they are going to offer to citizens," said the CEV chair.

Santana, who is the Archbishop of Maracaibo, northwestern Zulia state, advocated coexistence and tolerance among people with different political trends.