Venezuelan Presidential Election Set for Sunday

Venezuelan voters are set to decide on Sunday whether to reelect President Nicolas Maduro or support the resurgent opposition led by former diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia. This election presents the United Socialist Party of Venezuela with its most significant challenge in decades, as opposition parties have united behind a single candidate. Notably absent from the ballot is María Corina Machado, an influential opposition figure blocked from running by government repression. The Maduro administration recently faced renewed U.S. sanctions, which were imposed due to ongoing repression of dissent. Both Maduro and González Urrutia's supporters held large demonstrations in Caracas to close the campaign season. Observers note that, regardless of the election results, the future political landscape in Venezuela remains uncertain.