The presidential race, in which 10 candidates will participate, will be between the candidate of the Grand Patriotic Pole (Gran Polo Patriotico) President Nicolas Maduro and the candidate of the opposition coalition United Democratic Platform (PUD), Edmundo Gonzalez. If Gonzalez wins the presidential election, it will end the 25-year rule of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). Maduro will be eligible to be elected for a third term if he wins the presidential election.
For the first time in 10 years, all opposition parties in Venezuela have decided not to boycott the election. President Maduro addressed the largest rally in recent years at the closing of his campaign on Bolivar Boulevard on July 26. Gonzalez met with a small number of supporters in the Las Mercedes neighborhood of the capital Caracas on the last day of his campaign.
Uncertainty prevails in polls
According to the country’s largest media outlet, Telesur, in polls published by International Consulting Services, Maduro appears to be ahead with an average of 71 percent, while his closest rival Gonzalez is in second place with 23.9 percent. In polls published by media close to the opposition, Gonzalez is ahead of his closest rivals with an average of 60 percent.
Candidates’ promises
Maduro, one of the favorites in the election, said that if he wins, he will announce new packages during his 6-year term for an export-oriented economic transformation, protection of Venezuelan rights in the disputed Esequibo region with neighboring Guyana, continuation of social programs, housing assistance and increased employment. Gonzalez announced that after winning the elections, the country’s institutions will be strengthened and that they will announce incentive packages to revitalize the economy.
The candidate who emerges victorious from the elections will be sworn in as the country’s new president on January 10, 2025. Many countries, including Turkey, sent observers to the elections in Venezuela. At the request of the Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE), four experts from the United Nations General Secretariat will also serve as observers in the elections.
