Venezuela’s 2025 Legislative and Regional Elections: A Quick Guide

Venezuelans return to the polls on Sunday, May 25, to elect a new National Assembly, governors for 24 states, and regional legislative councils. This is the 32nd electoral event under the Bolivarian Revolution.

Our guide offers an overview of the process, the parties and candidates running, and some races to watch.

Overview, facts and figures

With their respective terms ending on January 5, 2026, the Venezuelan Constitution determines that a new National Assembly (AN) and regional authorities must be chosen this year. The unusually early date leaves room for other elections later in the year, including municipal contests and a potential constitutional reform.

Voters will elect 285 deputies for five-year terms. This includes 3 indigenous representatives, 50 national list parliamentarians, and 232 from states. Out of these, 133 will be elected via first-past-the-post systems in electoral circumscriptions, while the other 99 will come from regional lists.

In addition, the electorate will also pick governors for the 24 states and 260 members of regional legislative councils. Regional officials serve four-year terms.

According to Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE), 21.5 million citizens are eligible to vote. The electoral authority will set up 27,713 voting booths in 15,736 polling stations across the country.

The CNE has scheduled 14 audits of the voting system, with nine conducted prior to election day. The electoral council anticipates that the voting process will take less than 50 seconds per voter.

Polls are officially open from 6 am to 6 pm, though hours often get extended if there are still people queuing to vote. The CNE will provide preliminary results on Sunday night, including the overall trend in the National Assembly and the governor races that are not too close to call. 

Who is on the ballot?

A total of 36 national political parties feature on the ballot alongside 10 regional ones and 6 indigenous organizations.

The Great Patriotic Pole (GPP) groups the ruling United Socialist Party (PSUV) and 12 allied organizations. It ran a hybrid process combining grassroots assemblies and leadership decisions to fill out its candidate lists.

Opposing the PSUV-led alliance is an assortment of center-right to right-wing outfits split into three main camps. The Democratic Alliance (AD) brings together 10 minor parties that originally broke with the US-backed opposition in 2019. A New Era (UNT) is the last holdover from the opposition’s Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) that won the 2015 legislative elections, and counts on allies such as newly-formed Unión y Cambio. Finally, the Lápiz alliance ruled out joining forces with other anti-government groups in order to instead field its own lists.

At the same time, far-right factions led by María Corina Machado have called for a boycott of the upcoming vote. The US-aligned sectors have maintained all their focus on their claim of victory in the July 28, 2024, elections that saw President Nicolás Maduro secure a third term in office. Opposition leaders have traded accusations of playing to the government’s agenda in what has become a familiar debate over whether or not to boycott the vote.

The Essequibo vote

For the first time, Venezuela will choose six deputies, a governor, and 10 regional legislators for the disputed Essequibo Strip, defined by Venezuelan authorities as a (would be) 24th state called Guayana Esequiba. According to electoral spokespeople, some 21 thousand citizens are registered as Essequibo residents and eligible to vote in polling stations set up in Bolívar state.

The vote comes at a time of heightened tensions following several reported skirmishes along the border. Caracas rejected the International Court of Justice’s demand to suspend elections for Guayana Esequiba.

The vote will be mostly symbolic given that Venezuela holds no control over the disputed territory, but will underline the country’s commitment to its claim of sovereignty over the area.

All eyes on turnout

The electoral campaign has been largely subdued, with other issues such as ramped-up US sanctions and the mistreatment of Venezuelan migrants occupying the spotlight instead. The CNE has also offered scarce updates, and no international observation missions are expected for the elections, although there will be hundreds of international observers.

The Patriotic Pole has combined its traditional mass rallies with smaller, door-to-door canvassing efforts that favor direct contact with the electorate. Opposition rallies have been few and far between, with candidates and parties mostly taking to social media to reach out to voters.

Ultimately, the PSUV-led alliance has a solid support base that it can consistently mobilize. Therefore, the challenge for the myriad of opposition parties contesting the elections is to encourage their voting base to participate in order to present a meaningful challenge to the ruling coalition.

Continuity vs. reconfiguration

With most opposition groups boycotting the 2020 legislative elections, the GPP ended up winning 90 percent of the parliament seats. One year later, with some anti-government parties returning to the ballot, the PSUV and allies won 19 of 23 governorships.

Although there have been no opinion polls, the pro-government coalition is confident about retaining its majority in the parliament. Familiar names such as Jorge Rodríguez and Cilia Flores headline its parliamentary national list. Deputy Nicolás Maduro Guerra, the president’s son, leads the list in Caracas.

One of the main highlights of the legislative race is the possible comeback of Henrique Capriles. The former two-time presidential candidate saw his 15-year ban on running for office lifted (with no official explanation) to lead the national list for A New Era and allied parties. Other political veterans from the mainstream opposition, including Stalin González and Henri Falcón, also hope to return to parliament to lead a meaningful opposition caucus. 

On the regional map, the GPP will have its sights set on recovering the governorships currently in opposition hands. Barinas state holds symbolic significance as the birthplace of former President Hugo Chávez, with his brother Adán returning from a political hiatus to run for governor.

Opposition prospects of retaining or even conquering new regional governments are hampered by vote splitting, with most states featuring two or even three candidates running against the pro-government pick. Opposition incumbent Manuel Rosales might be the safest bet to secure a new term in the anti-government stronghold of Zulia state.

Coverage

Venezuelanalysis will provide rolling, on-the-ground coverage throughout the day on Sunday. Additionally, there will be regular updates on our Twitter, Instagram and TikTok channels.