Former Venezuelan lawmaker María Corina Machado has declared victory in the opposition’s presidential primary after tallying a commanding share of votes in early returns.
With more than 26 percent of ballots counted, Ms. Machado, an industrial engineer with a master’s degree in finance, received 93 percent of the vote, the primary’s organizing commission stated late on Oct. 22.
“Today, very powerful forces have been unleashed,” she told her supporters in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas. “Today I received a mandate, and I accept with Venezuelans the commitment of making that mandate matter.”
The count, which was to continue on Oct. 23, was delayed by a server blockage that the National Primary Commission blamed on internet censorship. It isn’t clear when the next results update will be given.
A victory by Ms. Machado potentially puts her in prime position to challenge longtime socialist leader Nicolás Maduro in next year’s elections.
Participation in the vote, which was organized without government assistance, was more than double what had been expected in some states—despite the relocation of polling places, long lines, and the lack of gasoline and public transport in many areas.
Ms. Machado’s closest rival in the race, former lawmaker Carlos Prosperi, drew less than 5 percent of the vote.
It’s unclear whether Ms. Machado—a free-market advocate who has pledged to privatize state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA) if elected president—would be allowed to participate in the general election, as she currently remains barred from public office over her support of the international sanctions on Mr. Maduro’s socialist regime.
The opposition and government last week signed an election deal allowing each side to choose its candidate according to its own internal rules, although the agreement didn’t include retracting any existing disqualifications—such as Ms. Machado’s.
While five people were released, the Maduro regime said last week that those with disqualifications can’t run in the 2024 election.
The opposition, which maintains that the disqualifications are illegal, has been reticent about what it would do if Ms. Machado wins the primary but is barred from competing in 2024. She has said that she could pressure the electoral authorities to let her register, while others have argued that a substitute would be necessary.
Mr. Maduro, the protégé of former leader Hugo Chávez, has been in power since 2013. Sanctions over allegations of corruption and human rights abuses were put in place following the repression of the 2014 Venezuelan protests over the collapsed economy, along with the arrest of political opponents in 2017 and 2018.
Mr. Maduro is widely expected to seek a third six-year term, although an official announcement has yet to be made.
