Opponents of Hugo Chavez today made major gains in legislative elections that could weaken the president's dominant power in Venezuela.
The opposition overturned Chávez's two-thirds majority in the national assembly, and claimed to have won most of the popular vote. If confirmed, the result would mark a milestone.
The Democratic Unity coalition won at least 60 of 165 seats in the assembly – well short of a majority but enough to end Chávez's ability to appoint judges and other officials and to push through major laws.
The opposition said it had won 52% of the popular vote, but that controversial changes in electoral rules favouring rural areas, where Chávez is popular, meant that support failed to translate into proportional seats.
Both sides claimed victory and momentum for the 2012 president election, in which Chávez will seek a third consecutive term. Turnout was 66%, high for a legislative election.
Chávez's allies took at least 94 seats. The president said via Twitter today that his PSUV party was the victor. "Well, my dear compatriots," he wrote, "it has been a great election day and we have obtained a solid victory: enough to continue deepening Bolivarian and democratic socialism. We need to continue strengthening the revolution!"
He did not address supporters from the balcony of Miraflores palace, a tradition from previous elections.
During the campaign, the former soldier said it was crucial to "demolish" the opposition and win at least 110 seats for the two-thirds majority required to continue to rubber-stamp his decisions.
Television pictures from the rival camps told their own story: PSUV supporters in red T-shirts looking uncertain, and opponents in yellow and blue T-shirts appearing upbeat.
Ramón Guillermo Aveledo, leader of the opposition coalition, said it had been a "marvellous" day but lambasted the national electoral council for an eight-hour delay before announcing the first, incomplete results at 2am local time to a tense country.
The council, which mostly comprises government loyalists, listed assembly winners but failed to immediately supply a breakdown of the nationwide popular vote. This is a crucial benchmark for Chávez, who declared the election a referendum on his rule.
"It will be a pyschological handicap for Chavistas if they get less than 50% of the vote," said Steve Ellner, a political analyst and author at the University of the East. "The opposition could then say: 'We are the majority.'"
Since sweeping to power in 1998, Chávez has cast his revolution as that of the poor majority against wealthy oligarchs. Two years ago, however, Caracas and other cities voted for opposition mayors and governors. Recession, inflation and crime played into the opposition's hands again this time.
The president's once-stellar approval ratings have tumbled but he remains the country's most popular politician, and he has a firm grip on all state institutions.
The assembly has acted as a rubber stamp since the opposition boycotted the last legislative election in 2005, giving Chávez free rein to push through radical legislation and appoint judges and members of the electoral council.
By securing more than 58 seats, the opposition can in theory exert influence over appointments and major new laws; if it clinches takes 67 – which seems possible – it could block the president's requests for temporary decree powers.
Aveledo, the opposition leader, warned the outgoing "moribund" pro-Chávez legislature against rushing out radical laws before the new assembly starts, in January 2011.
@Guardian
pic : Ramon Guilermo Aveledo
No comments:
Post a Comment