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Nicolas Maduro is predicted to win the presidential election. Photo/Reuters
CARACAS – Presidential elections will take place this year in Venezuela for the first time since 2018. But the opposition is grappling to determine a united candidate who can take on President Nicolas Maduro, after many candidates were shortlisted. either prohibited from entering the office or prohibited from registering.
4 facts about the Venezuelan presidential election that President Nicolas Maduro predicts will win
1. Presidential Election Held on July 28
Photo/Reuters
According to Reuters, Venezuela's presidential election will take place on July 28. These are general elections won by the candidate who receives a majority of the votes.
2. Nicolas Maduro Predicted to Win
President Nicolas Maduro of the Socialist Party, in power since 2013, said he would run again for a six-year term. His government is under US sanctions and has experienced a sharp economic and social decline.
Two opposition groups have registered candidates, but it is unclear whether either will remain in the election or whether they will be able to garner significant support.
Ten other candidates, who have little support, have also registered to run but are considered government allies by the opposition.
3. The Opposition Offers Change
The opposition is holding multi-party primaries in 2023 to choose one candidate to face Maduro.
The opposition's right to choose its own candidates was included in the election deal signed with the government in October, a deal that prompted the United States to ease oil sanctions.
Many high-profile opposition figures, including former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, have long been barred from office by the country's comptroller general, for reasons the opposition says are illegitimate. Capriles dropped out ahead of last year's primaries.
Maria Corina Machado, a 56-year-old industrial engineer who supports the privatization of state oil company PDVSA, won the primary election in October by a landslide, getting 93% of the vote, even though she was banned.
Although he appealed the move, the Supreme Court upheld him in January over his support for sanctions and corruption charges, which Machado denied.
In response, the US reimposed some sanctions and said oil curbs would return in April unless the policy was allowed to go ahead.
Machado continued to campaign, despite the arrest of several of his allies and activists, which sources close to the ruling party said was likely the government's reaction to declining support for Maduro.