Venezuelans are casting ballots for a presidential election on Sunday whose outcome may either cause a tectonic shift in politics or cause the policies that led to the worst peacetime economic collapse in history to last six more years. Whether it is Prez Nicolas Maduro who is chosen, or his main challenger, retired diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez, the poll may include ripple effects across the Americas.
If Maduro were to win another term, government critics and supporters have expressed their desire to retake control of the 7.7 million Venezuelans who have already left their homes to pursue careers overseas.
Elections opened at 6am across the country. Around 17 million people are thought to be available voters. Polls close at 6pm local time ( 3.30am IST ), but it’s not clear when the first results will be released.
Officials had planned for Sunday’s election to correspond with the 70th birthday of the communist firebrand who passed away from cancer in 2013, leaving Maduro’s Bolivarian trend. However, Maduro and his United Socialist Party in Venezuela have more unhappy supporters than ever among the electorates, who attribute their policies to slashing wages, causing appetite, crippling the oil industry, and causing families to flee because of immigration.
After being chosen in April as a last-minute stand-in for opposition superstar Maria Corina Machado, who was barred by the Maduro-controlled Supreme Tribunal of Justice from running for any business for 15 years, Maduro will face off against Gonzalez, who is representing a alliance of opposition parties. Sunday’s vote also features eight different individuals.
