ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay, May 23 (UPI) — Venezuela will hold regional and parliamentary elections Sunday amid a deep political and economic crisis. High voter abstention is forecast and a divided opposition lacks a unified strategy against the ruling party.

María Corina Machado, leader of the opposition Democratic Unitary Platform, who is in hiding from government security forces, has called for a boycott of the vote. She urged Venezuelans not to legitimize what she describes as a fraudulent process.

Other opposition leaders, including former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles and Zulia state Gov. Manuel Rosales, have chosen to participate in the vote to preserve political representation.

After leading the opposition coalition that secured Edmundo González’s victory in the 2024 presidential vote, Machado remains a key figure for many who oppose President Nicolás Maduro.

Maduro rejected the election results and held on to power by force. Machado’s influence is expected to drive widespread abstention, according to Beatriz Rangel, a former Cabinet minister under President Carlos Andrés Pérez.

A recent poll from the Center for Political and Government Studies at Andrés Bello Catholic University found that just 15.9% of Venezuelans plan to vote in the upcoming elections. Of those, 74.2% said they would back pro-Maduro government candidates, while 13.8% expressed support for figures aligned with Rosales and Capriles.

The leading reasons cited for abstention include a lack of trust in the National Electoral Council (27.4%), the belief that voting no longer makes a difference (23.9%), and the view that participating would undermine protests against alleged fraud in the most recent presidential election (14.4%).

Venezuela’s economic situation continues to worsen after a brief period of relative stability. The Venezuelan Finance Observatory reported a 2.7% contraction in the economy during the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year, citing declining oil production, soaring inflation and reduced domestic consumption.

The Economic and Social Research Institute at Andrés Bello Catholic University projects inflation will reach 220% by the end of the year, driven by the depreciation of the bolívar and falling government revenues. The weakened currency has made imported goods more expensive and eroded purchasing power for most Venezuelans.

The upcoming elections will decide 285 seats in the National Assembly and 24 regional governorships, most of which are expected to remain under the control of Maduro allies.

For the first time, representatives from the disputed Guayana Esequiba region also will be elected, a move that has heightened tensions with Guyana. The Guyanese government has denounced the inclusion as illegal and warned that those participating could face arrest.