Opposition in Venezuela organizes primary to select candidate for unity

Venezuela's opposition is currently conducting a primary to select a candidate for the upcoming 2024 presidential election. This poll has been organized independently by opposition parties, as they have not received any assistance from the National Electoral Council, which is controlled by an ally of President Nicolás Maduro. It is widely anticipated that Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, will run for another term in the 2024 election. The opposition believes that their best chance of defeating him is to unite behind a single candidate. In past presidential elections, opposition parties have boycotted the voting process due to candidates being imprisoned or prohibited from running. However, they plan to participate in the 2024 election, despite acknowledging the challenging circumstances. The idea of holding a primary was initially discussed in May 2022 and officially announced in October of the same year. They requested assistance from the National Electoral Council to organize the primary, but did not receive a response until September 2023. At that point, the Council, which is predominantly made up of government loyalists, suggested postponing the primary to November. However, the opposition declined this suggestion and decided to organize the primary on their own. They have set up over 3,000 polling stations for voters to cast their ballots. Initially comprising 13 candidates, the field has narrowed to 10 recently as Henrique Capriles, Freddy Superlano, and Roberto Enríquez have dropped out of the race. Current polls indicate that the leading candidate by a significant margin is 56-year-old former lawmaker María Corina Machado. However, the situation becomes more complex if Machado is chosen, as she has been banned from holding office for 15 years. This ban was imposed on her in June by the then comptroller-general, Elvis Amoroso, who is now the head of the National Electoral Council. Machado remains optimistic that if she secures the primary victory, the pressure on the government would be enough to reinstate her. An agreement was signed recently between opposition negotiators and government representatives in Barbados. However, there is ambiguity regarding the issue of barred candidates running for office. While the opposition negotiator believes the deal provides an opportunity for disqualified candidates to participate, the government delegation leader contradicts this interpretation. In response to this agreement, the United States has eased certain sanctions imposed on Venezuela's oil and gas sector. The deal also includes an agreement for international observers to monitor the 2024 presidential election. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed this agreement but cautioned that sanctions could be reintroduced if the Maduro government does not begin lifting the bans on opposition presidential candidates by the end of November.