Venezuela government, opposition agree on 2024 elections

Bridgetown – Venezuela’s government and opposition agreed in a fresh round of negotiations Tuesday that presidential elections will be held in the second half of next year, with international observers present.

An agreement to this effect was signed in Barbados in Norway-mediated talks, with an undertaking to invite “technical election observer missions” including from the European Union, UN, African Union and Inter-American Union of Electoral Organizations.

An exact election date will be defined by the country’s National Electoral Council, according to the signed text.

The two sides resumed talks Tuesday seeking to end the country’s political and economic crisis, after a nearly year-long suspension.

“This is the first step in a much broader agreement,” the head of the government delegation Jorge Rodriguez said in Bridgetown.

For opposition representative Gerardo Blyde, Tuesday’s agreement was a “solid step” forward.

The opposition, backed by several countries including the United States, did not recognize President Nicolas Maduro’s 2018 re-election in a vote widely dismissed as fraudulent.

The following year, Washington ramped up sanctions against Caracas first imposed in 2015 over the brutal repression of anti-government protests.

Maduro’s government is hoping the latest rapprochement will lead to an easing of sanctions.

The energy crisis sparked by Russia’s war on Ukraine saw global efforts renewed to solve the crisis in Venezuela, which has the world’s largest oil reserves.

Last year, US delegates went to Caracas to meet Maduro, even though it does not recognize him as a legitimate leader.

After initial talks between the government and the opposition, Washington granted a six-month license to US energy giant Chevron to operate in Venezuela and has voiced a willingness to ease sanctions further in return for progress.

Earlier this month, the two countries struck a deal under which Venezuela would accept back nationals deported from the United States after arriving there illegally.

– Outstanding issue –

Negotiations seeking to resolve the domestic impasse began in August 2021 but were suspended after the extradition to the United States of businessman Alex Saab, a Colombian national accused of acting as a money launderer for Venezuela’s socialist leader.

Talks briefly resumed but in November 2022 there was a new break after the government said continued dialogue was conditional on the release of $3 billion in funds frozen abroad.

The opposition, for its part, wants guarantees for free and fair elections next year.

The United States has welcomed the resumption of talks.

One issue left unresolved Tuesday was lifting the disqualifications of presidential candidates seeking to challenge Maduro.

The signed agreement mentioned allowing all candidates “provided they meet the requirements… consistent with the procedures established in Venezuelan law.”

Opposition candidate, Maria Corina Machado, considered a favorite to challenge Maduro, has been disqualified from running for a period of 15 years on grounds including “promoting sanctions.”

Rodriguez insisted Tuesday that “if you committed a crime and were sentenced for that crime, you cannot be a candidate.”