By Luis Manuel Aguana
The constitutional illegitimacy of those currently exercising executive power in Venezuela leaves very little room for achieving political stabilization in the country. On one hand, all political factions demand immediate elections to resolve the issue; on the other, rushing into an election would be ill-advised for Venezuelans, given the time required to dismantle the entire flawed electoral infrastructure—built by the Castro-Chavista-Madurista regime over nearly 30 years specifically to retain power.
Building—practically from scratch—a new, democratic electoral infrastructure to ensure a technical, legal, and administrative process that guarantees Venezuelans can trust in free, fair, and verifiable elections (that is, elections that are authentic, transparent, and democratic) is no trivial matter; it must be thoroughly studied and implemented prior to establishing any electoral timetable.
Since the expiration of the 180-day period mandated by the Constitution (Article 234) for declaring the "absolute absence" of the person holding the office of President of the Republic, Delsy Eloína Rodríguez Gómez has illegitimately exercised that office. Because the National Assembly failed to declare the incumbent president's absolute absence and subsequently call for elections, a presidency lacking any legal basis has existed in the country from that moment onward.
Under these same conditions of the illegal exercise of the presidency, critical national laws have been amended and oil concessions granted that bind the Venezuelan State. Such contracts and promulgated laws must—without exception—be reviewed, amended, or outright rejected at a later date by a legitimate executive authority.
This illegal situation would be resolved if presidential elections could be held immediately. However, as we noted earlier, it would take months to rebuild not only Venezuela's electoral system but also the entire institutional framework surrounding the election of public officials.
The US president declared on American television five days after the removal of Nicolás Maduro Moros that Venezuelans wouldn't even know "how to organize elections at this time" or "how to conduct elections," and that they would first focus on "rebuilding the oil sector and its infrastructure" before returning sovereignty to Venezuelans, clearly stating: "And ultimately, elections will be held." This has been the demonstrable effort of US officials in the months following Maduro's removal (see Electoral Intervention: Guarantee of Sovereignty, in https://ticsddhh.blogspot.com/2026/04/intervencion-electoral-garantia-de.html).
Recent Venezuelan history teaches us lessons about the path we should be taking. Without a legitimate government in place, we are unlikely to embark on an electoral route on which we haven't even taken the first step.
The transition period following the dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez took place between January 23, 1958, through the general elections of December 7 (for president and Congress), and the transfer of power to President Rómulo Betancourt on February 13, 1959. During the period of the Governing Junta, “…political parties outlawed during the Pérez Jiménez dictatorship were legalized, a cabinet was appointed with representation from various sectors of society, a committee was appointed to create an electoral statute that would allow for immediate free elections, in addition to a review of public finances and the confiscation of the assets of the main leaders of the dictatorship” (see in Spanish, Wolfgang Larrazabal, Wikipedia, in https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Larrazábal).
The transitional government of Wolfgang Larrazabal decreed in May 1958 an Electoral Statute that created the Supreme Electoral Council, the predecessor of the CNE, and that laid the foundations for all electoral processes carried out in the country for more than 40 years (see in Spanish, Governing Board of the Republic of Venezuela, Decree 234, May 23, 1958, Electoral Law, in https://tinyurl.com/2byupt7m).
So, before delving into all the tasks necessary to ensure free, fair, and verifiable elections, we should first be thinking about how to peacefully and constitutionally establish a Transitional Governing Board to replace the illegitimate regime of Delcy Rodríguez. This board would guarantee us an Electoral Statute, similar to and adapted to our times, that dismantles the National Electoral Council (CNE) to its very foundations and builds something entirely new for Venezuelans. This will necessarily take an indeterminate amount of time, which cannot be known until we have the report of an intervention commission for the CNE. In the meantime, a new transitional government must be established to order this intervention and create a new Electoral Statute for Venezuela, just as was done in 1958.
Since we cannot consider any electoral process (consultations and elections) that convenes the holder of popular sovereignty, given the compromised state of the current electoral system, the only possible constitutional route is through the Supreme Court of Justice. With the appointment of the judges of this new Court currently under discussion, based on the initial agreements signed in the negotiations between the two Assemblies, it is this new Judicial Branch that would be responsible for appointing a new transitional Executive Branch to replace the one headed by Delcy Rodríguez, one that can be recognized as valid both within the country and by the international community.
The National Constituent Alliance (ANCO) has seriously and responsibly proposed to the administration of President Donald Trump the replacement of the illegitimate regime of Delcy Rodríguez with a Transitional Governing Board to restore constitutional order (see in Spanish, ANCO’s Manifesto to the Nation and to the Administration of President Donald Trump: TRANSITIONAL GOVERNING BOARD NOW - 03-07-2026). https://ancoficial.blogspot.com/2026/07/comunicado-anco-manifiesto-la-nacion-y.html).
And why do we ask the US for this? Because it is no secret to anyone that they are the ones who—militarily and through the force of arms—have controlled the regime since January 3, 2026, and who, since July 3, have been its *sole* support and the reason for its continued hold on power. There is absolutely no legal basis justifying Delcy Rodríguez’s presence as “interim president” of Venezuela.
Furthermore, this new Transitional Government Junta should order an intervention into the Electoral Authority to create a special Electoral Statute. This would pave the way for free, fair, and verifiable elections—aligned with the timeline of the US three-phase plan—to restore the sovereign and democratic character of the Venezuelan people as soon as possible.
With the emergence of a new Supreme Court of Justice, we believe it could undertake two fundamental initial tasks: appointing a Transitional Government Junta under US protection and—in conjunction with the new authorities—finalizing a negotiated oil agreement that is, this time, consistent with the legitimacy of the proper signatories. This is the path of transition and electoral reconstruction we must traverse before calling any elections in Venezuela—a process we should already be negotiating with the US. We are already behind schedule...
Caracas, September 23, 2026
Blog: TIC’s & Derechos Humanos, https://ticsddhh.blogspot.com/
Email: luismanuel.aguana@gmail.com
Twitter:@laguana
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