Maduro regime sets presidential elections for July 28 as crackdown on opposition candidates continues

The National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela announced this Tuesday that its presidential elections will be held July 28, the day of Hugo Chávez’s birth, a move that comes amid increased repression against the opposition, including the disqualification of main candidate María Corina Machado.

The president of the CNE, Elvis Amoroso, told a cache of journalists during a press conference that the board of directors of that organization “unanimously” approved the date of the elections in the second half of the year, as agreed between the Nicolás Maduro regime and the opposition in a negotiation table.

The period for nominations will be between March 21 and 25, and the electoral campaign between July 4 and 25, Amoroso said.

Electoral registration will close in April, which calls into question the participation of the almost five million voters abroad and the three million new voters who have not yet registered in the country.

The long-awaited date launches an electoral process in Venezuela, from which the main opponent María Corina Machado has been banned, a move that European nations monitoring the situation believe was orchestrated to clear the way for dictator Nicolás Maduro to win unopposed.

#ULTIMAHORA así anunció Elvis Amoroso el 28 de julio como la fecha para la elección presidencial en Venezuela pic.twitter.com/CBumMt8Cyo

— Andrés Eduardo Díaz Hernández (@andreww_diaz) March 5, 2024

Venezuelan pollster Meganalisis published a study in early February that reflects a significant change in popular support for the regime compared to previous periods.

The study revealed that opposition leader María Corina Machado, who is currently facing disqualification from participating in this year's presidential elections, has 72% voting support, marking a milestone as the candidate with greatest support in the history of the country before elections.

Communist dictator Nicolás Maduro only retains 8% of the voting intention, while 20% of those surveyed still do not know which candidate to choose or would vote for a third party.