Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro announces candidacy for July re-election
- Polls show only 13.9 per cent of Venezuelans plan to vote for the incumbent president, far behind opposition candidate Maria Corina Machado’s 54.5 per cent
- But it is unclear whether Machado will appear on the ballot after the country’s top court upheld a ban barring her from holding public office
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro will run for a second re-election to secure another six-year term in voting planned for July 28, the ruling Socialist party said on Saturday.
Maduro, a 61-year-old former union leader, was proclaimed as the Socialist party’s candidate by Vice-President Diosdado Cabello, and took the stage at a large sports arena to address supporters.
“There’s just one outcome, the people’s victory on July 28,” Maduro said, wearing a bright red zippered jacket. “They haven’t been able to stop us, nor will they be able to.”
Recent polls show 13.9 per cent of Venezuelans plan to vote for Maduro, far behind opposition candidate Maria Corina Machado’s 54.5 per cent.
But though Machado won an opposition primary in October, it was unclear whether she will appear on the ballot after the country’s top court upheld a ban barring her from holding public office.
Candidates have until March 25 to register and it remains unclear whether the opposition will name a replacement for Machado, who is under increasing pressure to pick a substitute.
