Venezuela's opposition wins legislative majority

Peter Wilson | Special for USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Huge legislature win for Venezuelan opposition Venezuela's opposition won control of the National Assembly by a landslide, stunning the ruling party and altering the balance of power. The party could gain enough seats to challenge President Maduro's grip on power. (Dec. 7)

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela's fractious opposition won a crushing victory in legislative elections over President Nicolás Maduro's socialist party, as voters rejected the system created by the late leader Hugo Chávez 16 years ago, officials announced Monday.

The opposition's Democratic Unity coalition won at least 99 of the 167 seats in the National Assembly. And the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela won 46 seats, the National Electoral Council said.

The opposition needs to win 13 of the 22 remaining races to gain a two-thirds super-majority required to rewrite laws and possibly start a recall referendum to oust Maduro before his term expires in 2019. With a simple majority, the coalition can pass an amnesty law to free political prisoners.

Turnout for Sunday's vote was 74% of the country's 19 million eligible voters — the highest for congressional elections since the 1990s, when compulsory voting ended, according to the electoral council.

"It's a huge win for the opposition," said David Smilde, a senior fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America, a human rights advocacy group. "It's worrying that 22 seats haven't been decided, as that makes the difference as to what the opposition can do."

Many Venezuelans, tired of 16 years of rule by Chávez and Maduro, celebrated in the streets. Fireworks lit the skies over Caracas and other major cities.

“I went to bed last night, thinking we had a chance but not quite sure,” said Minerva Lopez, 42, a seamstress in Caracas who voted for the opposition. “And then this morning I woke up to the news. What a relief. The nightmare is ending.”

"We accept the results," a somber-looking Maduro said, as key members of his government looked on. “Today the opposition hasn’t triumphed. No, it is a victory for the counter-revolution. May they manage this triumph well, and hopefully they will take into account the needs of millions of people.”

He blamed his party's loss on an "economic war" being waged against his government by the country's business elite that he called "parasitical bourgeoisie."

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles, who is governor of Miranda state, said on Twitter late Sunday, "Venezuela won."

Los resultados son los esperados!Ganó Venezuela!Irreversible!Con mucha humildad,serenidad,madurez,asumamos lo q el Pueblo decidió! — Henrique Capriles R. (@hcapriles) December 7, 2015

Capriles, 43, had narrowly lost the presidency to Maduro in a special election in April 2013 after Chávez died. Maduro, 53, a former bus driver handpicked by the cancer-stricken Chávez, has been blamed for Venezuela's economic woes.

On Sunday before the results were released, Maduro pledged to work with the incoming National Assembly and said he would schedule working meetings with the new deputies to smooth the transition.

Capriles said after casting his ballot, "The government has used state funds to finance their campaigns." He stressed that all changes "must be made legally, constitutionally and peacefully."

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry congratulated Venezuela on Monday for its peaceful and democratic election.

"Venezuelan voters expressed their overwhelming desire for a change in the direction of their country," Kerry said in a statement. "Dialogue among all parties in Venezuela is necessary to address the social and economic challenges facing the country, and the United States stands ready to support such a dialogue together with others in the international community."

Venezuela's oil-dependent economy is likely to contract up to 10% this year, and inflation rages at an annual rate of more than 150%. Shortages of basic food, medicine and spare parts are common, as Maduro slashed imports to free up dollars to make debt payments.

The drop in oil prices has hit Venezuela especially hard. The country sits on the world's largest oil reserves and derives 95% of its hard currency from crude sales.

Maduro had asked Venezuelans to support the socialist party candidates to protect Chávez's legacy — the anti-capitalistic movement of giving more to the poor called Chávismo — while promising to boost pensions, scholarships and public housing.

Even with the Democratic Unity’s victory, Maduro and his party could make it difficult for an opposition-dominated assembly to govern. The outgoing assembly could grant Maduro special powers to rule by decree. Such a decision would certainly be challenged in the Supreme Court, where Maduro's supporters are in the majority.

"This will be uncharted waters for Chávismo, and it is hard to know what will happen,'' Smilde said.

The Democratic Unity coalition, which includes more than a dozen parties that have competed for power in the past, could also have trouble governing, Smilde said. The coalition is united only in its opposition to Chávismo and has not produced a detailed plan as to how it would reactivate the economy. Even though the coalition will hold a majority of seats, just selecting the National Assembly's president and other officers will create tensions, he said.

“We’re going to see all sorts of coalitions emerge,” Smilde said.