CARACAS, Venezuela, CMC—Polls opened in Venezuela at 6 am on Sunday as Venezuelans voted to elect a new president. Electoral authorities in Venezuela say 95 percent of the polling centers are open, 30,026 voting machines have been set up, and all poll workers were on time.
However, there were reports that several authorized opposition party representatives were barred from entering polling centers in the capital, Caracas, where Maduro is popular.
The Associated Press reported that police officers linked arms around the door even as party representatives showed them their printed certificates that gave them access to the center.
Incumbent President Nicolas Maduro is seeking re-election for a third consecutive term in the face of dwindling popularity and economic decline occasioned by a drop in oil prices.
After casting his vote early this morning, Maduro said he would respect the announced result—a change from his campaign rhetoric, during which he told supporters during one of his rallies that there would be a blood bath if he lost this election.
“No one is going to create chaos in Venezuela,” Maduro said after the vote. I recognize and will recognize the electoral referee and the official announcements and ensure they are identified.”
He also called on the nine other presidential hopefuls to publicly declare that they will respect the official announcement of the results when it happens.
Maduro’s rise to political power began in March 2013 when he was made heir to the presidency by then-popular socialist president Hugo Chavez. He can still depend on a cadre of die-hard followers, including millions of public employees and business owners whose success depends on the state.
However, he is coming up against former diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia. Although he has never held political office, he is being touted as a formidable opponent campaigning on the promise of economic reform that will lure back the millions of people who have migrated since Maduro became president.
The 74-year-old González represents a coalition of opposition parties after being selected in April as a last-minute stand-in for opposition powerhouse Maria Corina Machado, who the Maduro-controlled Supreme Tribunal of Justice blocked from running for any office for 15 years.
Machado has thrown her support behind Gonzalez and the Democratic Unitary Platform, an alliance of civil society, trade unions, retired military personnel, and several political parties.
The two have been campaigning together, focusing their campaign messaging on Venezuelans living in the vast hinterland, where the economic activity seen in Caracas following the Covid-19 pandemic and the announcement of a forecast for 4% economic growth didn’t materialize.
Over 21 million Venezuelans are registered to vote. Still, with the departure of nationals rising to approximately 7.7 million due to the prolonged economic crisis in that South American country, the number of potential voters is expected to be reduced to 17 million.
It is estimated that half of the Venezuelans who fled the country over the past 11 years since Maduro took office are registered to vote, but Government figures show that only 107,000 can vote outside of the country. This is because of the rigid prerequisites put in place by the Venezuelan government.
Though Venezuelan law allows absentee voting, interested voters must have been permanent residents of their host country for at least three years and must show proof. They must be appropriately registered with their foreign address at the Venezuelan Embassy or Consulate, where they will cast their ballot, and they cannot live in their host country illegally or seek refugee or asylum status there.
Ahead of today’s election, several international Election Observer groups were disinvited to observe the election process.
On Friday, a COPA Airlines flight carrying former Latin American Presidents, including Mireya Moscoso of Panama, Miguel Angel Rodriguez of Costa Rica, Jorge Quiroga of Bolivia, and Vicente Fox of Mexico, was prevented from taking off from Panama.
Panamanian president Jose Raúl Mulino, through his X account, alleged that the airplane had been disavowed from entering Venezuelan airspace.
Venezuela also denied entry to a delegation from Spain, which the opposition had invited to observe the elections.
The Invitation to the European Union observer mission was rescinded in May.
Elvis Amoroso, head of the National Electoral Council, said Sunday’s election would be observed by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), a panel of experts from the United Nations, the African Union and the Carter Center.
There are also observers from Russia, China, and Turkey, countries with close ties with the Maduro regime. Polls are scheduled to close at 6 pm.
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