Opponents will try to regain momentum after years of instability, facing a serious crisis of voter apathy
The opposition of Venezuela has announced this Wednesday that it will hold primary elections to choose its presidential candidate next October 22. The winner will attend the presidential elections scheduled for the year 2024.
In this way, the opposition will hold its primaries for the first time since 2012. Opponents expect regain momentum after years of futile attempts to overthrow the government of Chavista President Nicolas Maduro, but faces a deep crisis of voter apathy, among other challenges.
Juan Guaido, who has not yet clarified whether he will attend this process after being stripped of the leadership of the opposition National Assembly in January, has celebrated on Twitter the announcement of the date “to reunify the country and that hope be reborn in Venezuela.”
We made the first step!
October 22, 2023: date of the primary.
Date to reunify the country and hope is reborn in Venezuela.
You have the power so that together we can move forward. pic.twitter.com/tUXm0qn52a
— Juan Guaido (@jguaido) February 15, 2023
The main opposition groups in Venezuela refused to participate in the last elections for the lack of democratic guaranteesbut they have set themselves the objective of recovering the lost momentum with a view to future processes, still to be specified in the calendar.
The single candidate is a recurring demand on the part of prominent leaders. Not surprisingly, in the 2012 and 2013 presidential elections, the then opposition candidate, Henrique Capriles, was close to Hugo Chavez, first, and Nicolas Maduro, later.
