Venezuelan National Assembly Speaker Jorge Rodriguez said that the country will not hold a presidential election in the near future, emphasizing that the government’s current focus is national stability.

He made the remarks in an interview with the American conservative media Newsmax on Monday night.

Venezuela’s president has a six-year term, and the last election was held in 2024, which was controversial. Newsmax host Rob Schmitt asked if that meant there wouldn’t be another election in five years.

Rodriguez responded: “The only thing I can say is that there will be no elections in the short period of time when stability must be achieved.”

He explained that the decision was related to broader efforts to rebuild and strengthen Venezuela’s state institutions.

“We are currently working on the re-institutionalization of the state so that every institution of the state can once again be fully empowered and fully recognized by all,” he said.

Rodriguez, who has led the National Assembly since 2021, added that Venezuelans are seeking to return to normalcy after the pandemic. President Nicolás Maduro kidnapped.

“government Delcy Rodriguez In fact, we are seeking this to completely stabilize the country, to make things better, to reconcile everyone, everyone in Venezuela,” he said.

On January 3, the United States kidnapped Maduro in a military operation. In the weeks that followed, Venezuela’s Supreme Court appointed Delcy Rodriguez, the vice president and sister of the Speaker of the National Assembly, as acting president.

she formally sworn in On January 5, with the support of the Venezuelan military, the ruling party, and the United States.

Jorge Rodriguez told Newsmax that the current government needs to “reach an agreement with all levels of the opposition” to set a “timetable” for new elections.

amnesty law

Maduro’s kidnapping initially fueled hopes that new elections would be held after a controversial 2024 presidential race.

In that election, Maduro controversially claimed victory for a third consecutive term, despite voter counts released by the opposition appearing to show his candidate winning.

Protests broke out and Maduro’s government responded with a violent crackdown. An estimated 25 people died, according to the U.S. State Department.

In an interview on Monday, Rodriguez rejected suggestions that the 2024 campaign is illegitimate. Instead, he emphasized his push for national unity, saying: “We have been divided for a long time.”

He highlighted the Legislature’s efforts to pass Mass amnesty lawwhich would result in the release of all political prisoners and the pardon of any crimes related to political dissent since 1999.

The bill passed unanimously in the first of two votes on Thursday and is expected to pass this week.

Still, questions remain about the bill. Critics worry that other forms of political repression may follow after prisoners are released.

Schmidt asked opposition leader Maria Corina Machado if she would be able to return to Venezuela and run freely in future elections if the bill passes.

“So please allow me not to just talk about one name because there are many, many foreign actors who have to be part of this discussion,” Rodriguez responded.

“An amnesty law is being drafted and cooperation with the people is being considered, but some sectors of the opposition abroad are promoting violence.”

He later said the amnesty bill would not apply to opposition leaders accused of violent crimes.

“With this amnesty law, we are promoting compliance with the law by all opposition groups abroad so that they can return to the country,” Rodriguez said.

However, opposition leaders have long claimed that the government peddled false accusations of violent crimes to arrest and jail them.

Machado herself was accused of conspiring to assassinate Maduro in 2014, leading to her expulsion from the National Assembly.

Rodriguez’s comments also come amid developments in the former congressman’s case Juan Pablo Guanipa.

The leader was released on Sunday after more than eight months in pretrial detention but was rearrested less than 12 hours later after speaking to media and supporters.

He was detained by armed men without identification or a court order, according to his family. His son Ramon Guanipa described the incident as a “kidnapping.”

Officials later said they had asked for his release order to be revoked, citing his alleged failure to comply with conditions imposed on his release.

Guanipa was transferred to his residence in Maracaibo early Tuesday morning and remains under house arrest.

Machado condemned these actions, saying Guanipa’s case showed that releases announced by the government did not guarantee the full exercise of political and civil rights.

“What was Juan Pablo’s crime? Let’s be honest. So what were these releases? Or what were they?” Machado said Monday.

She went on to question whether the released prisoners were truly free from what she described as the Venezuelan government’s repressive apparatus.

“Can’t we talk about those who are imprisoned in Venezuela? Can’t we recount what they went through? Can’t we describe the horror of what’s happening in our country today?”