Venezuela sets presidential election for July 28
CARACAS, (Reuters) - Venezuela will hold its presidential election on July 28, the head of the national electoral council said yesterday, though uncertainty remains over who will be the opposition coalition's candidate with President Nicolas Maduro expected to seek another term.
The country's Supreme Court in January upheld a ban on holding public office imposed by the country's controller general against Maria Corina Machado, who overwhelmingly won an October opposition primary to determine its presidential candidate.
The ban prompted a reinstatement by the United States of some sanctions against the OPEC member nation after months of nascent rapprochement between the two. The
United States has said oil sanctions roll-backs that it carried out last year will expire in April unless Machado is allowed to run.
Machado, a 56-year-old industrial engineer, has rejected the possibility of a substitute candidate, saying her ban is contrived by Maduro's government to protect him from a viable challenger. The ban was upheld at a time when Maduro has faced declining support among his socialist party's traditional base.
A March 25 deadline for candidate registration may force the opposition's hand. Machado's campaign said she was in the country's Andean region and it offered no immediate comment after the election date was announced.
Maduro's re-election to a six-year
term during the last presidential vote in 2018 has been criticized by the opposition, the United States and others as fraudulent.
Government-allied lawmakers, opposition groups and others last week proposed a variety of dates, ranging from April to December.