Venezuelans awaited Sunday night the results of the most important elections in a quarter-century of socialist party rule, in which President Nicolás Maduro is confident of a victory that would allow him to rule the country until 2030.

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has been the coalition’s star despite being barred from public office, forcing her to hand over the baton to candidate Edmundo González, a 74-year-old former diplomat known for his conciliatory tone.

Gonzalez has won the support of some former ruling party supporters, but the opposition and observers have questioned whether the vote will be fair, saying decisions by electoral authorities could create obstacles.

Maduro, whose 2018 re-election was deemed fraudulent by the United States, among others, has said the country has the most transparent electoral system in the world and warned of a “bloodbath” if he loses.
The opposition asked voters to remain at polling stations and closely monitor the vote count.

“I want to repeat once again to our witnesses at the polling stations that they are not leaving the polling stations until they have the protocols in their hands; having the protocols in their hands is a legal right,” said opposition leader Delsa Solorzano.

He noted that in several centers, opposition representatives were unable to observe the vote counting, and also accused the transfer of data from polling centers to the Electoral Council’s counting center of being stopped.

“Considering the percentage of registrations that we have, there is reason to rejoice,” the opposition leader added.
Solorzano was not allowed into the main electoral body’s offices to observe the national vote count, although two other opposition witnesses were inside, the opposition said.

In central Caracas, dozens of ruling party supporters arrived on motorcycles at Andres Bello High School, the country’s largest polling station, shouting “victory, people’s victory” and clashed with opposition supporters gathered outside.

The crowd dispersed after about 20 minutes, but videos on social media showed similar incidents in other parts of the country.

The Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict reported in X magazine that armed groups of ruling party supporters on motorcycles, known as “colectivos,” have been reported in six states and Caracas.

Polling stations began closing at 18:00 (22:00 GMT) with results expected to be announced this evening.

Under the government of Maduro, a 61-year-old former bus driver and ex-foreign minister, there has been an economic collapse that has led to the displacement of about a third of the population, while it faces sanctions imposed by the United States, mainly on its key oil industry.

The president has said he will guarantee peace and economic growth, but after more than 20 years in power, the country is filled with mistrust and frustration.

“We are in great need. A minimum wage of three dollars is not enough. I clean houses and my four grandchildren depend on me,” said Luisa González, a 61-year-old mother, after voting in the center of San Félix in the southern state of Bolivar. “We have been waiting for years for change. “I was a Chavista, but people have changed,” he added.

Despite a legal restriction prohibiting the publication of poll results in the week before the election and before the official results are announced, several exit polls appeared on social media by the evening.

“False information is being spread that violates the law,” Gonzalez wrote on his account on the site.

Government officials applauded the vote in appearances on state television.

HERITAGE

Nicolás Maduro voted early in the morning in Caracas and said that “today must be a day in the name of God and the supreme power of the Holy Trinity for good to triumph,” adding that the result would be recognized.

The President made it clear that he would begin dialogue on Monday and that the priority would be the economy.
Many of Maduro’s supporters speak highly of their mentor Chavez and see Maduro, who has been in power since 2023, as a continuation of Chavez’s legacy.

Jose Lopez, a 57-year-old merchant, said from the central city of Valencia that “I have always been a revolutionary” and that there were things in the country that “without a doubt need to be improved.”

Gonzalez and Machado, who promised big changes and said a fresh start could encourage migrants to return, expressed hope that the military would confirm the vote results.

Some 46 people have been detained since Friday “in the context of the electoral process,” Gonzalo Himiob, vice president of the human rights organization Foro Penal, told X, adding that 23 people remain in custody.