Venezuela opposition wins parliamentary majority

[frigidmagi]

bbc

The opposition in Venezuela has won a majority of seats in the National Assembly, overturning near two decades of dominance by the Socialists of President Nicolas Maduro.

Five hours after polling ended, the National Electoral Council announced the opposition had won 99 seats.
The Socialists have gained 46 seats, with another 22 yet to be declared.

President Maduro has admitted defeat. saying his party recognised "these adverse results".

However, under Venezuela's presidential system the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) will still be a powerful force, as it also controls many municipalities.

But the win for the opposition - which includes centre-left and centre-right groups - marks a potential political shift in the country after 17 years of socialist rule.

"The results are as we hoped. Venezuela has won. It's irreversible," tweeted Henrique Capriles, a leading opposition figure in the Democratic Unity Roundtable and a former presidential challenger.

The elections were widely seen as a referendum on President Maduro, the handpicked successor of the late President Hugo Chavez, and the party's socialist policies.

The opposition accuse the PSUV of mismanaging the economy and of squandering the country's oil wealth.

Mr Maduro says his party defends the interests of ordinary Venezuelans and wants to complete Mr Chavez's "Bolivarian Revolution".

Among the campaign issues were chronic food shortages of staples - such as milk, rice, coffee, sugar, corn flour and cooking oil.

Mr Maduro has blamed the situation on an "economic war" waged against his government by the opposition.
The opposition also accuses the government of increasing authoritarianism.

Earlier this year opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez was given a 13-year prison sentence for inciting violence - a charge critics say was politically motivated.

Venezuela invited election monitors from regional body Unasur but rejected those from the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the European Union.

[Lys]

Man i've been feeling a vague urge to comment on this for days, given that i'm Venezuelan, but the truth is that i just don't care all that much any more. It seems my family is in the same boat, given i've talked with my mother, my father, and my sister in recent days and none of them saw fit to comment on the matter. So the opposition won, it was bound to happen eventually in the face of rampant corruption and persistent mismanagement, but so what? Maybe if in ten years the country has managed to claw its way back to mere mediocrity it might be worth giving a damn, until then the place is still a shit hole.