A success for the Venezuelan opposition and a success for liberal-conservative candidate María Corina Machado: On October 22, 2023, the opposition's self-organized primaries to determine a joint presidential candidate took place under difficult conditions. According to estimates, around two to three million voters took part, exceeding expectations. The participating parties are therefore unanimous in their assessment of the event as a success. The clear winner of the election is María Corina Machado, who, after counting 65 percent of the electoral files (as of the evening of October 23), has an unassailable lead with 93 percent of the votes. A clear success for Machado had already become apparent in the run-up to the election, so that all parties involved recognized her election victory early on. Many challenges accompanied the holding of the primaries, and there are more to overcome before the presidential elections are held in the second half of 2024. Shortly before the primaries, the Barbados Agreement between the government and the opposition surprisingly agreed on the period for the presidential elections and other related issues.
