Maduro and opposition agree to presidential elections in expectation of lifted sanctions
In a move that is expected to lead Washington to lift some of its sanctions against Caracas, the Nicolás Maduro regime and the Venezuelan opposition signed on Tuesday two separate accords paving the way for a presidential election that would be supervised by the European Union, the U.N. and other international observers next year.
The accords, signed in Barbados, came after a series of meetings held earlier this year between representatives of the Biden administration and Caracas regime, in an attempt to put an end to a long-lasting political and economic crisis in the South American country that has spurred more than 7 million Venezuelans to seek refuge in neighboring countries and in the United States.
The agreement contains pledges to implement a number of electoral reforms, long demanded by the opposition, including the audit of the voters’ registry, long suspected to include hundreds of thousands of deceased and non-existent voters. The revision would also seek to include voters now residing outside the country.
While not specifically mentioning that the regime will lift its current ban on top opposition leaders from participating in the election, the opening clause of one of the signed agreements states that all parties have the right to choose their own candidate for the upcoming election, to be held in the second half of next year.
The accords were signed by representatives of each negotiating team, including the president of the regime-controlled National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, and former Caracas Mayor Gerardo Blyde, who presides over the opposition’s delegation. The event was witnessed by Barbados’ foreign minister, Jerome Walcott, and representatives of Norway, Netherlands, Russia, Mexico, Colombia and Brazil.
In the agreement, the two sides also pledged to abstain from violence during the process ahead and for government officials to guarantee the safety and freedom of movement to all presidential candidates.
The government and the opposition “recognize and respect the right of each political actor to select their candidate for the presidential elections freely and in accordance with their internal mechanisms, taking into account the provisions of the Constitution and the law,” says one of the documents signed.
They also recognized the right of political actors to have transparent financing mechanisms and committed to promoting a balance in public and private media in favor of equal access for all presidential candidates.
The agreements were signed amid signals that the Biden administration was willing to ease its sanctions on Venezuela if Maduro committed to a framework to hold free and fair elections.
Sources in Washington told McClatchy that an announcement of U.S. sanctions relief could come shortly after Maduro signed a deal with Venezuela’s unitary platform, an alliance of opposition parties that have called for free elections for the past eight years.
Some of Maduro’s most trusted lieutenants, including the Rodriguez siblings, Delcy and Jorge, began quiet negotiations on the framework in Qatar earlier this year with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Juan Gonzalez, and representatives of both groups held a series of subsequent meetings in recent months.
Biden’s team has insisted that international monitors observe the elections and that Maduro lift a prohibition he imposed on key opposition figures from running, including María Corina Machado, a former member of the National Assembly of Venezuela.
The Norwegian embassy said early this week that meetings were set to be held in Barbados ahead of the opposition’s primary vote set for Sunday, which is expected to be easily won by Machado. The leader of Vente Venezuela is way ahead in the polls, with 45%. Each of her rivals are registering in the single digits.
According to polling firm Meganalisis, Machado would also beat Maduro in a presidential election with a margin of 54.9% to 11.0%.
This story was originally published October 17, 2023 at 7:05 PM.
