Guacamaya, February 19, 2025. The president of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Elvis Amoroso, announced that legislative and regional elections will be held on May 25, a month later than initially planned.
The original date of April 27 only allowed 90 days of preparation, during which parties must designate their candidates and launch their electoral campaigns. There is still no clarity regarding the candidates, both for the ruling party and the various opposition parties.
Venezuelans are set to elect 23 governors and state legislative councils, as well as 277 representatives for the National Assembly.
Several pollsters predict low voter turnout, between 25% and 30%. A scenario similar to the 2020 legislative elections could unfold, where the main opposition parties called for abstention. The Great Patriotic Pole, the ruling coalition, won overwhelmingly, securing 90% of the deputies.
Opposition leader María Corina Machado has called for a boycott of the upcoming elections, labeling them a “farce,” returning to her historical position of abstention as in the 2005, 2017, 2018, and 2021 elections.
Other opposition figures, such as Henrique Capriles and Andrés Caleca, have called for voting, causing divisions within the Unitary Platform and Primero Justicia. The organization of Governor Manuel Rosales, Un Nuevo Tiempo, has already announced its intention to run for re-election in the state of Zulia.
Former presidential candidate Antonio Ecarri and the party Fuerza Vecinal have also called for participation but have not announced whether they will run alone or in alliance with other groups.
Other parties, including Bernabé Gutiérrez’s Acción Democrática, initially signed a coalition agreement but have yet to present their candidates. The candidates from the different political movements are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
