Venezuelan voters will go to the polls today to elect their new president. Current president Nicolas Maduro will face the opposition candidate, Edmundo Gonzales Urrutia.

Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, is running again. His time in office so far has been dominated by severe economic problems, political instability and international sanctions.

This election is also taking place in controversial circumstances. 

After years of internal discord, the opposition has become more united  under  Maria Corina Machado's leadership. Though she cannot take part in the elections herself, the opposition was able to agree on an external candidate: Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, a prominent businessman and former diplomat, who is currently polling ahead of Maduro.

If Urrutia wins, he has promised to introduce economic reforms, fight against corruption and restore the country's democratic institutions.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called for the results of the Venezuelan presidential elections to be widely respected so that the country can "return to normality." The statements were made in an interview with international news agencies Bloomberg, Reuters, AFP, EFE, AP, and Xinhua.

"I told [Nicolás] Maduro that the only possibility for Venezuela to return to normality is for there to be a widely respected electoral process," Lula said, according to AFP. "Maduro has to learn that when you win, you stay [in power]. When you lose, you leave. You leave and get ready to contest another election."