NEW YORK, United States – Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez told the United Nations General Assembly that the country will hold elections as part of a transition toward what she called “full democracy,” but she did not announce a date for the vote.
Rodríguez made the commitment Wednesday during her address to the 81st UN General Assembly in New York. She said her government had opened a political dialogue with opposition sectors and would seek conditions allowing all political forces to participate.
“The people of Venezuela will determine the right moment,” Rodríguez said, while adding that the country’s institutions would be prepared to guarantee what she described as an inclusive and transparent electoral process.
The announcement was the clearest public commitment from Rodríguez on elections during her UN visit, but it left the central question of when Venezuelans will vote unanswered.
Rodríguez leaves election timetable open
Rodríguez did not specify whether she was referring to a presidential election, a broader electoral process or a particular electoral calendar.
She said the government had begun talks with opposition sectors to establish a process based on equal conditions for political forces. She also said Venezuela was undergoing an “orderly, institutional, and verifiable” democratic transformation.
The lack of a timetable means that the announcement does not yet establish a concrete election schedule.
Rodríguez had also said earlier in September that elections would take place when Venezuela was prepared for them and that she did not set the date. Her latest statement therefore continues a position she had already articulated before the UN speech.
The announcement comes during a political transition
Rodríguez became Venezuela’s interim president after U.S. forces captured Nicolás Maduro in January and took him to the United States to face criminal charges.
She had served as Maduro’s vice president before assuming the interim presidency.
Her government has since been working with Washington on restoring diplomatic and economic ties. During her UN visit, Rodríguez met U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the General Assembly. The two discussed bilateral relations and cooperation in areas including energy, mining and security, according to Rodríguez.
The Venezuelan delegation has also held discussions with international financial institutions over debt restructuring and economic recovery. Reuters reported that the talks have included the Inter-American Development Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
Those economic discussions are unfolding alongside the stated political transition.
Opposition participation remains a central question
Rodríguez said her government had initiated dialogue with opposition sectors and promised equal conditions for all political forces.
She did not identify in her UN remarks which opposition groups were participating in the dialogue or provide details on how the proposed electoral guarantees would work.
That leaves several practical issues unresolved, including the composition and role of Venezuela’s electoral institutions, the registration of political candidates, campaign conditions and the mechanisms that would be used to establish confidence in the vote.
The questions are particularly significant because Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election remains disputed.
Venezuela’s electoral authority declared Maduro the winner of that election, while opposition forces said their independently collected voting records showed Edmundo González Urrutia had won. The dispute became a major international issue and contributed to the political crisis that preceded Maduro’s removal in January.
The current government has not yet announced a new electoral timetable to resolve the political succession question.
Washington also wants elections
Rodríguez’s UN statement came one day after her meeting with Trump.
According to Axios, Trump told Rodríguez during the meeting that Venezuela needed elections, while U.S. officials said the administration had not demanded a specific election date during the encounter.
The meeting reflected the changing relationship between Washington and Caracas following Maduro’s removal.
The United States has been working with Rodríguez’s interim government on economic and energy arrangements while also maintaining elections as part of the stated transition.
Rodríguez thanked Trump in her UN speech for his willingness to restore diplomatic relations and cooperation with Venezuela.
The United Nations provides a new diplomatic setting
Rodríguez’s appearance at the General Assembly marked her first address to the UN as Venezuela’s interim president.
The UN’s 81st General Assembly high-level debate is taking place in New York from Sept. 22 through Sept. 29, bringing heads of state and senior representatives together for the annual diplomatic gathering.
Before her address, Rodríguez also met with UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The UN said their September 21 discussion covered Venezuela’s economic reforms, debt restructuring, dialogue initiatives, human rights and the country’s path toward full democracy.
Her appearance at the General Assembly therefore placed the promised election within a wider effort to rebuild Venezuela’s diplomatic and economic relationships.
A promise without a date
Rodríguez’s statement establishes a stated intention to hold elections but does not yet provide the calendar needed to begin an electoral process.
No date was announced for a presidential vote, and the government has not publicly detailed the full electoral framework that would govern the transition.
For now, the next steps remain tied to the political dialogue Rodríguez says has begun, the preparation of Venezuelan institutions and negotiations over the conditions under which opposition forces would participate.
Her message to the UN was unequivocal on one point: Venezuela will hold elections.
When that process will begin remains unanswered.
Reporting Credit: United Nations — General Assembly proceedings and Secretary-General’s meeting with Delcy Rodríguez; Government of Venezuela — Rodríguez’s statements concerning elections, political dialogue and the transition; U.S. government — public information concerning U.S.-Venezuela engagement and the September 2026 meeting with Rodríguez.
