However, a last-minute surprise is the candidacy of anti-Chavista Manuel Rosales. Elections in the South American country will be held on July 28, 2024
A few minutes before midnight on March 25, the deadline for closing the lists for the Venezuelan elections, the formation of Nuevo Tiempo (New Time) managed to register Manuel Rosales as a candidate. The candidate, nominated by the opposition, 80-year-old Professor Corina Yoris, was unable to run due to “technical problems with the electronic system.”
Rosales is currently governor of the northern state of Sulia and was an opponent of Hugo Chavez, the predecessor of current President Nicolas Maduro, in the 2006 presidential election.
Elections will be held on July 28, 2024, and the main opposition coalition Plataforma unitaria democrática (PUD) was unable to present its leader, Maria Corina Machado (who won the October 2023 primaries), because she was banned from holding public office for 15 years, while her designated replacement, Corina Yoris, was unable to register, apparently for “technical” reasons, which was denounced by the coalition that reported difficulties in accessing the National Electoral Council’s electronic system for registering candidates.
“We were not allowed to access the nomination system,” said PUD Executive Secretary Omar Barboza. “Therefore, this violation of the rights of the majority of Venezuelans, who want to vote for change and are not allowed to nominate a candidate, must be fixed. We want to record this historic outrage in connection with the denial of the democratic rights of the Venezuelan people.”
“When I went to register, there were 10 candidates registered for the presidency of the republic,” Nicolas Maduro explained to Spanish-language television channel Telesur, emphasizing that more than 35 political parties had registered. “Right-wing candidates. Center-right candidate, Social Democrat candidate, Social Christian candidate. Candidates and parties that intend to give away, throw in the attic.”
Returning to Manuel Rosales, the candidate was a staunch opponent of Chavez and was forced to leave the country before reaching an agreement and becoming president of Sulia.
Machado intervened, explaining that she was “angry and outraged” and that the July 28 election would not be free. When asked about possible support for Rosales, whose formation is part of the PUD coalition, Machado reiterated: “My candidate is Corina Yoris.”