Venezuela braces for uncertain presidential election with ‘bloodbath’ threat
- Nicolas Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, is seeking his third six-year term as Venezuelans clamour for change
Uncertainty hangs over presidential elections in Venezuela Sunday, with incumbent Nicolas Maduro vowing a “bloodbath” if he loses, which polls say is likely.
Seeking a third six-year term at the helm of the economically devastated country, Maduro lags far behind challenger Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia in voter intention.
But the 61-year-old counts on a loyal electoral machinery, military leadership and state institutions in a system of political patronage and, critics say, opposition repression.
Maduro said Thursday that he, and he alone, can “guarantee peace and stability” for Venezuela, having warned recently of a “bloodbath” if he loses to an opposition he has sought to paint as “fascists”.
Analysts have said that violence is likely if the state apparatus intervenes in an election that the opposition is all but certain of winning.