Vente Venezuela plans to release a voter-registration app for Venezuelans overseas Saturday, a move aimed at helping a large diaspora participate if the country eventually holds elections, Reuters reported.
Reuters based its account on two people familiar with the effort and a document the agency had seen. Development involved 15 staff members over 18 months. Vente Venezuela hopes a reformed electoral council could use the submitted information to add participants to official voter rolls.
A source not authorized to speak publicly before the launch told Reuters the app may help roughly four million Venezuelans abroad register. Reuters put the diaspora at about eight million. The agency said administrative hurdles and registration problems prevented most overseas Venezuelans from voting in 2024. It also linked large-scale emigration in the prior decade to economic collapse and political instability.
The overseas voter pool could carry political weight. Reuters cited analysts who thought many Venezuelans abroad would have opposed Maduro in the 2024 election, making them a potentially favorable constituency for the opposition.
Venezuela has not set a date for its next election. Machado has called for a vote by July 2027, while Reuters reported that voting could be at least a year away if courts and electoral authorities are reformed first to support fair conditions.
Reuters also reported that Interim President Delcy Rodriguez promised a transition to “full democracy” and is holding U.S.-backed talks with one opposition faction. Machado is not part of those discussions. The talks have yet to settle who would lead a reworked electoral council or what changes it would undergo, Reuters reported.
Reuters described Thursday’s nationwide opposition demonstrations as the largest in nearly two years. The app plan follows Thursday’s Caracas rally, where supporters sought an election timetable and Machado’s return. Vente Venezuela plans to release the tool Saturday, Oct. 24.
