Next Venezuelan presidential election
Under the 1999 Constitution and a 2009 constitutional amendment, the president of Venezuela is elected for a six-year term by direct popular vote and may be re-elected indefinitely. On 3 January 2026, Nicolás Maduro was captured in Venezuela by United States forces during a large-scale military operation and removed to New York to face narcotics-related charges, triggering a major political and constitutional crisis. Vice-president Delcy Rodríguez was installed as acting president by Venezuela's Supreme Tribunal of Justice, which described Maduro's situation as a "temporary absence", leaving the timing of the next presidential election unclear.
Background
Constitutional framework and term length
The Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, adopted in 1999, sets the presidential term at six years. Article 230 establishes the length of the term, while a 2009 constitutional amendment removed term limits for the presidency and other elected offices, allowing indefinite re-election. Article 231 provides that the president-elect must take office on 10 January of the first year of the term by swearing an oath before the National Assembly, or before the Supreme Tribunal of Justice when circumstances prevent inauguration before the legislature. Article 233 regulates the "absolute absence" of the president. If such an absence occurs in the first four years of the term, a new presidential election must be called within 30 days and the executive vice-president assumes the presidency on an interim basis; in the last two years, the executive vice-president completes the term. If the president is only deemed "permanently unavailable", the executive vice-president may temporarily assume the presidency for 90 days, and—subject to the approval of the National Assembly—this interim period may be extended for up to six months.2024 presidential election
Presidential elections were held on 28 July 2024 to elect the president for the 2025–2031 term. The CNE proclaimed Nicolás Maduro, candidate of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, re-elected with 6,408,844 votes, corresponding to 51.95% of valid ballots, according to official results reported by Venezuelan authorities.The opposition Unitary Platform organised a parallel vote tally based on polling-station tally sheets and published results through the website resultadosconvzla.com indicating a clear victory for opposition candidate Edmundo González. An academic analysis of the opposition's dataset concluded that the opposition tally covered more than 80% of polling stations and suggested that González had received a significantly larger share of the vote than Maduro.
Several international organisations and governments questioned the credibility of the official results and criticised the lack of detailed polling-station data and the repression of post-electoral protests.
2025 parliamentary and regional elections
On 25 May 2025, Venezuela held elections to renew all 285 seats in the National Assembly, as well as most state governorships and regional legislatures. The ruling Great Patriotic Pole alliance led by the PSUV won nearly 83% of the vote for the Assembly and 23 of 24 state governorships, amid turnout of about 43% and a divided opposition in which some factions called for a boycott.Under the Constitution, deputies serve five-year terms, which implies that the following parliamentary election is due in 2030 unless early elections are called.
2026 capture of Nicolás Maduro and interim presidency of Delcy Rodríguez
On 3 January 2026 United States forces carried out a large-scale operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. More than 150 aircraft were involved in the attack, and Maduro was subsequently flown to New York to face long-standing U.S. indictments on drug trafficking and weapons charges.U.S. President Donald Trump declared that the United States would "run" Venezuela until what he termed a safe transition and warned that further strikes were possible if the new authorities did not cooperate. The operation's legality was widely questioned at the United Nations and by international-law experts.
Shortly after the operation, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice ordered executive vice-president Delcy Rodríguez to assume the presidency on an interim basis. The armed forces publicly endorsed her as acting head of state. Initially Rodríguez condemned the U.S. action as an "illegal kidnapping", but within days she signalled a willingness to cooperate with Washington on Venezuela's future, in a shift reported by international media.
The United States has stated that it does not recognise Rodríguez as a democratically elected leader and has called for a transition culminating in "free and fair elections".
Venezuelan congressman and son of Nicolás Maduro, Nicolás Maduro Guerra declared on 27 January that elections in Venezuela are "not on the table" as his father was "kidnapped".
Electoral system
The president of Venezuela is elected by direct, secret ballot in a single nationwide constituency using plurality voting. Elections are organised and supervised by the National Electoral Council, one of the five constitutionally recognised branches of government, which oversees an automated voting system with electronic machines and paper audit trails.Article 227 of the Constitution sets eligibility criteria for presidential candidates, including being Venezuelan by birth without another nationality, at least 30 years old and with no disqualifying criminal convictions, while Article 229 bars sitting executive vice-presidents, ministers, governors and mayors from running unless they leave office beforehand.