(23 May 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Caracas, Venezuela – 22 May 2025
1. Man sitting on a windowsill as he watches cars and people walk by
2. Man handing out opposition political pamphlets
3. Celia Molina, housekeeper, walking on the street
4. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Celia Molina, housekeeper:
++STARTS IN SHOT 3++
"I do not believe in this dirty politics, because let’s put it this way: this is dirty politics because they deceive the people."
5. Banner of opposition candidate for governor Juan Requesens
6. Various of Requesens during a political rally with motorcade caravan
7. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Juan Requesens, opposition candidate for governor:
++PARTLY OVERLAID BY SHOTS 4, 5 AND 6++
"Some brothers, comrades, and friends believe that to defend the 28th and to fight for Venezuela, it is better not to vote. We believe that the vote as a tool for expression, struggle, and change must always remain alive."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Caracas, Venezuela – 20 May 2025
8. Government supporter handing out banners showing Nicolás Maduro Guerra, son of president Nicolás Maduro and candidate for lawmaker
9. Maduro Guerra on stage
10. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Nicolás Maduro Guerra, lawmaker candidate:
++PARTLY OVERLAID BY SHOTS 8 AND 9++
"They (the opposition) don’t have any useful plan. Now we see their faces, the same script, the same script as always"
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Caracas, Venezuela – 22 May 2025
11. People walking by a stand of an opposition candidate
STORYLINE:
As Venezuelans head to a Sunday election, they are again being used as political pawns. Opposition factions are urging abstention while the ruling party aims to tighten its grip on power.
The election for members of the National Assembly, governors and other regional offices will be the first to allow broad voter participation since last year’s presidential contest, which President Nicolás Maduro claimed to have won despite credible evidence to the contrary.
The contest comes as the opposition’s most recognizable figure, María Corina Machado, remains in hiding to avoid arrest and most other leaders are in exile or prison due to the government’s repressive measures unleashed after the July election.
A nationwide poll conducted between April 29 and May 4 by the Venezuela-based research firm Delphos showed that only 15.9% of voters expressed a high probability of voting on Sunday.
Of those, 74.2% said they would vote for the candidates of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela and its allies, while 13.8% said they would vote for contenders associated with two opposition leaders who ignored Machado’s call to boycott the elections.
Some opposition politicians are urging voters to participate, despite the difficulties. Among those is former lawmaker Juan Requesens, who spent two years in jail.
"Some brothers, comrades, and friends believe that to defend the 28th and to fight for Venezuela, it is better not to vote. We believe that the vote as a tool for expression, struggle and change must always remain alive", said Requesens to the Associated Press.
Also running is Nicolás Maduro’s son, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, who is standing for a second term as a lawmaker.
The ruling party-loyal National Electoral Council will oversee Sunday’s election for state legislators, 285 members of the unicameral National Assembly, and all 24 governors, including the newly created governorship purportedly established to administer Essequibo, a region long under dispute between Venezuela and neighboring Guyana.
AP Video by Juan Arraez
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