Venezuelan opposition leaders said their coalition won control of the legislature from the ruling Socialists for the first time in 16 years on Sunday, giving them a long-sought platform to challenge President Nicolas Maduro.
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Twenty-two seats have been too near call, stated Council President Tibisay Lucena though opposition leaders stated they expected to win almost all of these up for grabs to have a remaining total of at the very least 113 seats.
Opposition supporters congregated at a campaign headquarters in a hotel of affluent east Caracas hugged and high-fived, though many cautioned they were still awaiting official confirmation. “I always told you all, this was the way!”
A small opposition majority in the new 167-seat National Assembly could create only minor inconveniences for Maduro, such as denying him a budget for foreign travel and having committees scrutinize the executive’s record.
Opposition leader Henrique Capriles celebrated the victory on Twitter, stating in a tweet, “Venezuela has won!”
Queuing to vote at a school in central Caracas, 24-year-old fast-food worker Filros Guzman said he used to vote for the government, but was now fed up with being unable to find toilet paper and enough food in the shops.
“We also hope that December 7 is a day of unity, peace, and calm following the electoral results”, he added.
Venezuelans voted on Sunday in tense elections that could see the opposition seize legislative power from the socialist government and risk sparking violence in the oil-rich, cash-poor nation.
Pedestrians walk near posters showing late Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez calling to vote for the pro government parties in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015.
Maduro has blamed the situation on an “economic war” waged against his government by the opposition. Offsetting opposition optimism, the Socialist Party benefits from a geographic distribution of seats that favors historically pro-government rural areas over cities.
Taking two thirds of the seats would allow Maduro’s adversaries to sack cabinet ministers as well as name directors of the National Electoral Council, which critics accuse of routinely favoring the ruling party.
President Nicolas Maduro took to the airwaves and announced that he accepted the loss of his majority, but pledged not to give up on the mission of deceased Hugo Chavez to create a socialist state.
Chavez’s election as president in 1999 marked the start of an era of powerful left-wing governments across Latin America.
This morning, starting at 0500 hours, we observed that theres no information on any of the television channels from the spokesmen for Democratic Unity, Zambrano said at the media center set up by MUD for the elections.
Maduro promised to respect the results as he voted in western Caracas, dressed in his party’s red jacket. Last month, Argentines elected a conservative businessman over the chosen successor of Cristina Fernandez, who was a close ally of Chavez.
However, he said the outcome of the election did not mean an end to the “Bolivarian revolution” he inherited from Chávez who died in 2013 from cancer.
“Clearly, some of Chavistas thought they could see a win by the opposition coming”.
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But the opposition can seek a recall referendum next year by collecting about 4 million signatures.
