Venezuela's opposition moved on April 10 to force the question of presidential elections, arguing that the constitutional window for addressing the power vacuum left by the removal of Nicolás Maduro has now closed, and that a vote must follow within 30 days.

In a statement, Vente Venezuela – the conservative party headed by opposition leader Maria Corina Machado which was recently allowed to reopen its Caracas headquarters – said more than 90 days have elapsed since Maduro was taken into US custody on January 3 alongside his wife, triggering what the party described as a "permanent vacancy" in the presidency under Venezuelan constitutional law. The charter allows for temporary absences of up to 90 days, after which the National Assembly is required to declare a definitive vacancy, a declaration that would in turn oblige authorities to call a presidential election within a month.

"The entire country and the democratic international community know and can attest to the existence of an absolute absence in the Presidency of the Republic," Vente Venezuela said.

The constitutional argument cuts to the heart of Venezuela's unresolved political transition. Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro's former vice president, was sworn in as interim president following his capture and has since secured a degree of international legitimacy that few observers anticipated. She has since presided over the opening of the oil and mining industry to private participation, chiefly US firms. Washington formally recognised her government in a court filing on March 11, with President Donald Trump personally affirming the decision. The US also lifted individual sanctions against Rodríguez earlier this month, and the two countries restored full diplomatic ties after a seven-year rupture.

Yet neither Rodríguez nor the pro-government National Assembly has shown any appetite for advancing the electoral process the opposition is demanding. That posture reflects a broader calculation in Caracas: that consolidating the current arrangement with Washington offers more near-term stability than opening a competitive presidential race whose outcome would be uncertain.

The White House's typically transactional approach has reinforced that logic. Trump has praised Rodríguez for showing "very firm leadership" and has prioritised the normalisation of bilateral relations, including a nascent oil-marketing arrangement, over pressing for an immediate democratic transition. The US president has also engaged opposition figure Machado, but stopped short of backing her as a transition leader, citing what he described as insufficient support within Venezuela.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in late February that Venezuela would ultimately need "fair, democratic elections," but conceded that Washington had deliberately placed stability ahead of democratic benchmarks in the immediate aftermath of Maduro's ouster.

Opposition groups are also pushing for an overhaul of the National Electoral Council, which they accuse of systematic bias toward the government. Maduro was declared the winner of a third presidential term in the disputed July 2024 election, though authorities never published detailed vote tallies, attributing the failure to a cyberattack, a claim widely rejected by independent observers and foreign governments.