Tomorrow's Venezuelan presidential election could be the most consequential in nearly a decade.

Experts say nothing less than the future of Venezuelan democracy could be at stake.

The nation's increasingly authoritarian president, Nicholas Maduro,

is running to extend his time in the office he assumed in 2013.

If you don't want Venezuela to fall in a bloodshed, let's guarantee the biggest electoral

success in the history of our people.

Polls show him trailing challenger at Mundo Gonzalez Erritia by a large margin.

Gonzales was an obscure retired diplomat with no political aspirations

until a coalition of opposition parties picked him as its candidate.

I want to call on all Venezuelans to join me in a peaceful and orderly change of government.

He has the backing of Maria Karina Machado, the driving force behind the opposition.

After winning a primary with more than 90% of the vote the Maduro government

dander from running.

This moment we are living is the closing of a cycle of chaos

to begin an era of order and stability and security. of institutions and the economic and human rights crises that have led more than 7 million

Venezuelans to leave the country over the past 10 years.

Many sought refuge in

neighboring Colombia and Brazil. Last year US authorities encountered tens of thousands of

Venezuelans along the southern border.

If the polls hold true in Maduro does lose, some analysts are skeptical that he would readily accept defeat and give up power.

Alexandra Winkler is a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

She's also a former deputy mayor of El Hatillo, which is one of the five

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