ABC News.png
Opposition Wins Supermajority in Venezuela National Assembly
Joshua Goodman, Associated Press (USA), in Caracas, Venezuela, 8 December
2015
Venezuela's opposition won a key two-thirds majority in the National
Assembly in legislative voting, according to final results released Tuesday,
dramatically strengthening its hand in any bid to wrest power from President
Nicolas Maduro after 17 years of socialist rule.
Two Thirds Majority
More than 48 hours after polls closed, the National Electoral Council
published the final tally on its website, confirming that the last two
undecided races broke the opposition coalition's way, giving them 112 out of
167 seats in the National Assembly that's sworn in next month. The ruling
socialist party and its allies got 55 seats.
Majorities in Venezuela.jpg
<http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Venezuela-Opposition-Says-First-Step-
Will-Be-to-Oust-Maduro-20151207-0012.html> Graphic by Telesur
The publication ends two days of suspense in which Maduro's opponents
claimed a much-larger margin of victory than initially announced by
electoral authorities, who were slow to tabulate and release results that
gave a full picture of the magnitude of the Democratic Unity opposition
alliance's landslide.
The outcome, better than any of the opposition's most-optimistic forecasts,
gives the coalition an unprecedented strength in trying to rein in Maduro as
well as the votes needed to sack Supreme Court justices and even remove
Maduro from office by convoking an assembly to rewrite Hugo Chavez's 1999
constitution.
Although divided government should foster negotiations, Maduro in his first
remarks following the results showed little sign of moderating the radical
course that voters rejected.
Defeat
Even while recognizing defeat, the former bus driver and union organizer
blamed the "circumstantial" loss on a right-wing "counterrevolution" trying
to sabotage Venezuela's oil-dependent economy and destabilize the
government.
On Tuesday, Maduro visited Chavez's mausoleum in the 23 of January hillside
slum where the government suffered a shock loss in Sunday's vote.
Accompanied by members of his top military command, he accused his opponents
of sowing discrimination and class hatred, cautioning workers who voted for
the opposition that they would regret their decision to abandon support for
the government.
"The bad guys won, like the bad guys always do, through lies and fraud,"
said Maduro. "Workers of the fatherland know that you have a president, a
son of Chavez, who will protect you."
No Compromises
Hardliners in the notoriously fractious opposition seem similarly
inflexible, preferring to talk about ending Maduro's rule before his term
ends in 2019 rather than resolving Venezuela's triple-digit inflation,
plunging currency and the widespread shortages expected to worsen in January
as businesses close for the summer vacation.
Moderates however are calling for dialogue to give Maduro a chance to roll
back policies they blame for the unprecedented economic crisis. But with
most Venezuelans bracing for more hardship as oil prices, the lifeblood of
the economy, hover near a seven-year low, even they recognize the window for
change is small and closing fast.
"If Maduro doesn't change we'll have to change the government," Gov.
Henrique Capriles, who lost to Maduro in 2013 presidential elections, told
The Associated Press. "But the opposition's response to the economic crisis
right now can't be more politics."
From:
<http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/venezuela-opposition-wins-sup
ermajority-national-assembly-35657422>
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/venezuela-opposition-wins-supe
rmajority-national-assembly-35657422
See also:
<http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/venezuelas-poor-rejected-soci
alists-now-fear-economic-pain-35652663> Venezuela's Poor Rejected Socialists
Now Fear Economic Pain
<http://spectator.org/articles/64892/what-happens-if-venezuela-cuts-castro%E
2%80%99s-oil> What Happens if Venezuela Cuts Off Castro's Oil?
<http://www.telesurtv.net/english/analysis/What-to-Expect-from-a-Counter-Rev
olution-in-Venezuela-20151207-0019.html> What to Expect from a
Counterrevolutionary National Assembly in Venezuela
<http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Venezuela-Opposition-Says-First-Step-
Will-Be-to-Oust-Maduro-20151207-0012.html> Venezuelan Opposition Says First
Step Will Be to Oust Maduro
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