VENEZUELA’S government has welcomed news that the far-right opposition associated with pretender Juan Guaido will participate in this autumn’s elections.

The “unitary platform” of the Democratic Action, Popular Will, Primero Justicia and Un Nuevo Tiempo will take part, spokesman Henry Ramos Allup said yesterday evening. The groups have previously been involved in efforts to overthrow Venezuela’s elected government by force. Mr Guaido, of the Popular Will group, declared himself president in 2019 and has been recognised as such by the United States and its satellite states.

Its decision comes amid dialogue with the government on peaceful solutions to the impasse created by the opposition’s repeated refusal to recognise the legitimacy of election results. Tuesday’s statement did not do so either, claiming Venezuelan elections — which have repeatedly been given a clean bill of health by international observers, and were described as “the best in the world” by former US president Jimmy Carter — “will not be fair ... however, we understand it will be a useful field of struggle.”

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said he welcomed the announcement despite these caveats. 

“A cycle of political stability has been opened that must be at least until 2030,” he said. “Every vote is a commitment to dialogue, to peace, to reconciliation.”

And he expressed especial pleasure that Mr Guaido, who led a failed coup attempt in 2019 and is still fighting a legal battle to obtain Venezuelan gold held in the Bank of England, would be taking part.

“I’m going to sit in my armchair, with the television on and my popcorn, to see Juan Guaido voting on November 21,” he said. “And I will applaud, because we managed to include him in democracy again.”