Elections in Venezuela: Gonzalez Urrutia is the most likely candidate and 66% want the country to change its course

With just over a month left until the presidential elections in Venezuela, a recent independent poll showed Clearpath Strategies reveals that the opposition candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, emerges as the front-runner with a significant advantage over Nicolas Maduro. The study also highlights the widespread desire for change among Venezuelan voters 66% indicate that they want a new direction for the country.

The survey, conducted between May 23 and June 5, 2024, included 1,500 face-to-face interviews with registered voters in Venezuela. The results show that two-thirds of voters want to change course compared to the current trend under the Maduro regime. In addition, 67% of registered voters said they were very likely to participate in the presidential election scheduled for July 28, reflecting a high motivation to vote.

Edmundo González Urrutia emerged as a unifying figure for the opposition. Despite being in the public domain for less than three months, it has been a huge success Appreciation 96% and high preference 54%Compared to Maduro’s preference of 35%. This unification of support was crucial to his campaign.

ClearPath Strategies survey shows González Urrutia He leads by 21 points among voters most likely to participate, receiving 56% of the vote to Maduro’s 35%.. No other candidate received more than 1% support, underscoring the polarization between the two main contenders.

Consolidating the opposition vote was a crucial factor in González Urrutia’s campaign. He has managed to consolidate the support of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who maintains high favorability ratings. This dynamic has allowed González Urrutia received 94% of the opposition’s safe votesAnd form a solid bloc against the current president.

The study also reveals that the majority of voters expect González Urrutia to win the election. 55% of confident voters and 91% of opposition voters believe that Gonzalez Urrutia will be the next president, a confidence that contrasts with opinion polls that preceded the previous elections in Venezuela, where the opposition did not have the same confidence in his chances of winning.

The legitimacy of the July 28 elections depends largely on González Urrutia’s participation. The overwhelming majority of non-Chavista voters (88%) and opposition voters (91%) consider the elections to be illegitimate if González Urrutia’s participation is prohibited. This highlights the importance of him running in elections that are seen as fair and representative.

With only six weeks left until the campaign ends, Edmundo González Urrutia has been positioned as the undisputed front-runner for the presidential elections scheduled for July 28.. His advantage over Maduro and consolidation of the opposition vote gives him a strong position ahead of the elections. Moreover, the desire for change expressed by a large majority of Venezuelan voters will be the deciding factor in these elections.

last Thursday, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia He refused to sign the agreement he proposed Maduro forces candidates to recognize the results of the July 28 elections.

On June 20, Maduro endorsed the agreement with seven unknown candidates. Gonzalez Urrutia had indicated that he would not sign it, because the Chavez regime had already violated the Barbados Agreement when it canceled the invitation to the European Union to monitor the vote.

The candidate of the Unitary Democratic Platform, a coalition that brings together the main opposition groups in Venezuela, said that the agreement was “an indication of the bias that characterizes the uneven campaign.” He added that “An agreement can never be imposed unilaterally, but must emerge from respectful dialogue.”. However, he said there was no reason to doubt that he would submit to the will of the people. Gonzalez leads Maduro by at least 20 percentage points in voter opinion polls.