Venezuela sets presidential elections for July 28

The presidential elections in Venezuela will be held on July 28, 2024, according to the president of the CNE (National Electoral Council), Elvis Amoroso, this Tuesday (Mar 5, 2024).

Speaking to journalists, Amoroso explained that the electoral calendar, which “meets all legal and technical requirements” for the elections, it determines the period from March 21st to 25th for the presentation of candidacies.

#Venezuela | Statements from the National Electoral Council https://t.co/hgacfRaodd

— teleSUR TV (@teleSURtv) March 5, 2024

According to the president of the CNE, the new date was unanimously approved by the body’s board of directors on March 4. The decision to schedule the elections for the second half of 2024 was the result of an agreement between the government of Nicolás Maduro and the opposition.

There are, however, doubts about the legitimacy of the election, as political opponents were recently arrested or prevented from contesting by court decision.

Maduro is expected to seek re-election, but it is unclear who his opponent will be, especially after María Corina Machado, winner of the opposition primaries in October, was banned from holding public office by the TSJ (Venezuela’s Supreme Court of Justice).

The recent events undermine the agreement signed between Maduro and the opposition in October 2023 in Barbados, in the Caribbean. Representatives from Brazil, the United States, Mexico, the Netherlands, Russia and Colombia participated in the meeting at the time.

The treaty determined the holding of free, fair and transparent elections, with the participation of international observers, updating of electoral records and freedom of the press.