Nicolas Maduro appears on the ballot in Venezuelan elections 13 times

Only three of these images reflect voting for the opposition candidate

Nicolas Maduro's photo appears 13 times on the ballot for the upcoming presidential election in Venezuela amid fears of election fraud.

The authoritarian leader's face adorns the July 28 ballot document under election rules that require an image of each individual party's presidential candidate, even if the party is part of an electoral coalition.

By contrast, photographs of Edmundo Gonzalez, the candidate of the united opposition alliance, appear only three times, all of them shorter than Mr. Maduro.

Maduro's authoritarian government may be its weakest in years. He is the target of US sanctions, losing support and acting on his own: Tarek El Aissami, a former vice president who was one of the regime's most powerful figures, was arrested this year on suspicion of corruption.

Over the past six months, the government has discredited opposition presidential primaries, arrested perceived and actual opponents, and repeatedly labeled opposition members as criminals.

Nicolas Maduro, pictured in March when he officially registered as a candidate. Photo: Federico Parra/AFP

Mr Maduro announced in March that he would stand for re-election to secure another six-year term.

There are 34 more options on the ballot, but all they are considered allies of the Maduro regime, meaning that out of 50 options, 47 support the government. and only three represent opposition voices.

“There is only one opposition candidate, and that is Gonzalez,” says Rafael Hosio Cabrices, a prominent Venezuelan journalist now living in Montreal. “Everyone else is either directly linked to Chavismo [the leftist movement founded by the late President Hugo Chavez] or follows its logic.”

Gonzalez, 74, a little-known retired diplomat, was ultimately chosen as the opposition's sole presidential candidate last month. This comes after longtime dissident Maria Corina Machado, who won the opposition primary with more than 90 percent of the vote, was disqualified from holding public office for 15 years on charges widely believed to be fabricated.

Opposition support at 60pc< She continues to campaign for Mr. Gonzalez and is often mobbed by supporters in working-class neighborhoods that were once bastions of Chavismo. Polls show opposition support at about 60 percent to the government's 20 percent.

If he wins, Mr. Gonzalez is expected to take on a largely protocol role while allowing Ms. Corina Machado to effectively run the government. But such a victory is seen as unlikely.

Mr Hosio Cabrices predicted more dirty tricks from the dictatorship, which is accused of rampant corruption and presiding over an economic collapse that has led to the exodus of seven million Venezuelans.< /p>

He added: “They are desperate. They have no way of winning a fair election, and they know it. It's all about timing. They don't want to give Washington time to react. They are waiting for the right moment.”