Venezuela Opens Race for Supreme Court Seats
VENEZUELA · POLITICS
Key Facts
- The country Venezuela, home to the world’s largest oil reserves, is run by acting president Delcy Rodríguez.
- What happened Lawmakers opened applications on Wednesday 28 October 2026 for new Supreme Court judges.
- The count By 29 October, 100 people had applied: 83 for judge, 13 for inspector, 4 for a school director.
- The deadline Applications close Wednesday 11 November 2026, and the candidate list is due before the National Assembly on 11 December.
- Prediction markets Polymarket: 36.0% an election is scheduled by 31 March 2027 (30 October, 5:17 p.m. ET).
- Power Index Venezuela ranks 13th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 27.0 points (October 2026 edition).
Venezuela’s National Assembly has started choosing a new Supreme Court, and by Thursday 29 October 2026 about 100 people had put their names forward. The Supreme Court, known by its Spanish initials TSJ, is the body that the opposition says helped keep Nicolás Maduro in power after the 2024 election.
For US readers, the court matters because US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stressed that institutional reforms must come before elections are called. Our guide to who holds power in Venezuela explains the actors in the talks.
What Happened
The Judicial Nominations Committee began taking applications on Wednesday 28 October. It is a panel of 12 representatives of civil society and 11 members of the National Assembly, and a reform in September raised the civil society seats from 10 to 12.
On Friday the committee gave a first count of 100 applications received through Thursday. Of these, 83 are for judge, 13 are for inspector general of the courts, and 4 are for director of the National School of the Judiciary.
Who Can Apply
Candidates must be lawyers who hold only Venezuelan nationality, and they must have no party membership or must give it up. They cannot be close relatives of senior state officials, and each file needs a sworn statement of no party membership.
People who applied in an earlier round, in May and June, only need to confirm in writing that they still want to be considered. Applications close on Wednesday 11 November 2026.
Why the Court Matters
The opposition accuses the current court of backing the government and of endorsing Maduro’s 2024 victory, which opposition parties call fraudulent. Maduro now faces trial in the United States, and Delcy Rodríguez, his former vice president, runs the country as acting president.
The renewal of the court is part of agreements reached in August between the government and a part of the opposition, in talks backed by Washington. Our report on the US steps that opposition leader María Corina Machado wants before a vote shows how the pieces connect.
What Prediction Markets Say
Polymarket, a platform where traders bet real money, gives a 36.0% chance that Venezuela schedules a presidential election by 31 March 2027. It gives 9.5% for a date by 31 December 2026, on US$669,717 traded as of 30 October at 5:17 p.m. ET.
Kalshi, a US exchange regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, puts the chance of an election call before 1 April 2027 at 36.0%. It shows 9.0% for a call before 1 December 2026, a sign that traders see no quick vote.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
What It Means for You
If you follow Venezuelan bonds or US oil companies that want to work in Venezuela, a court seen as independent would lower the legal risk of contracts and claims. A court still loyal to the government would keep that risk high, whatever deals are signed.
Venezuelans in the United States, including the large community in Florida, watch the process as a test of whether the country can hold a credible vote. Travelers should keep following State Department advice, since nothing in this process changes it.
What Is Not Known
The call is for 32 Supreme Court magistrates, but it is not known how many current judges will leave. They also give different dates for the candidate interviews, so that schedule is not confirmed.
It is not known whether the committee will take extra days to review so many applications, as one opposition lawmaker said it might. It is also not known whether the final list will include judges from the current court.
More: Venezuela news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Is Venezuela Choosing New Supreme Court Judges?
The court is being renewed under agreements between the government and part of the opposition, reached in the talks that began in August. The opposition says the current court backed the government.
When Will Venezuela Name the New Judges?
Applications close on Wednesday 11 November 2026, and the committee plans to present its candidate list to the National Assembly on 11 December. The date of the final vote is not confirmed.
Who Can Become a Venezuelan Supreme Court Judge?
Candidates must be lawyers with only Venezuelan nationality and no party membership. They cannot be close relatives of senior state officials.
Sources: National Assembly of Venezuela, Judicial Nominations Committee call for applications and first count, 28-30 October 2026; Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela (TSJ), official site, 30 October 2026.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error
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