Voting and candidate news

Venezuela’s opposition will hold primary elections this Sunday to choose a consensus candidate to face the ruling Socialist Party in the next presidential election.

The race is organized by the National Primary Commission and ten candidates are vying to face President Nicolás Maduro in his potential bid for re-election next year.

All Venezuelans are invited to vote, according to the National Primary Commission, a body run by the opposition coalition independent of the government and the National Electoral Commission.

The primaries take months to develop and are funded by opposition organizations. More than 3,000 polling centers have been installed at locations provided by civil society, community organizations, private homes and some public places. Voting centers were also set up in more than 80 cities in 30 countries for Venezuelans wishing to vote from abroad.

This is the first time in a decade that the opposition coalition has organized a primary vote to select a single party candidate. In 2012, almost two million voters chose Henrique Capriles as the coalition’s candidate. Capriles contested two presidential elections in 2012 and 2013, losing both against the late President Hugo Chavez and Maduro, respectively. He also filed to run in this year’s primary, but dropped out earlier this month.

This year’s voter turnout is expected to be much lower than in 2012, partly because of the socioeconomic crisis in the once-prosperous country and partly because the National Election Commission does not support the race system. More than 25% of Venezuelans now live abroad, according to election experts who spoke to CNN this week, and migration trends may play a role in curbing voter turnout.

Front runner María Corina Machado, a veteran of the 2012 primaries, told CNN en Español on Sunday that she was proud to be part of the process. “I ask you to remember how many people believed this was impossible, and we have overcome all obstacles,” he said after the vote.

However, Machado’s candidacy has drawn scrutiny as he is currently disqualified from public office by the Maduro-aligned Comptroller General’s Office, which accused him of tax fraud.

Sunday’s primaries come days after Venezuela’s government and the country’s opposition signed a comprehensive political agreement that lays out detailed political guarantees for the next presidential election to be held in the second half of 2024, including the participation of international observers.

Shortly after the deal was signed in Bridgetown, Barbados on Tuesday, the United States issued a statement celebrating the political agreement and announced the easing of most sanctions against Venezuela’s energy and mining industries.

As part of the deal, Maduro released at least five political prisoners, including two opposition leaders.