Venezuelan opposition sees victory, hopes for supermajority

Venezuelan opposition sees victory, hopes for supermajority

The Democratic Unity opposition won no fewer than 99 of the 197 seat legislature, authorities announced after midnight, Sunday.

Venezuela’s opposition saw a surprise victory in legislative elections Monday, and waited for the final totals that would secure a supermajority which could shift power away from  President Nicolas Maduro after 17 years of socialist rule.

The Washington Post reports that The Democratic Unity opposition alliance said that it had won the minimum amount of seats needed to remove President Maduro. However, the National Electoral Council has yet to announce the winners of 22 races, almost an entire day after the elections.

The Democratic Unity opposition won no fewer than 99 of the 197 seat legislature, authorities announced after midnight, Sunday.  People celebrated in the streets, honking car horns and setting off fireworks in some neighborhoods. The Socialist party and supporters won 46 seats.

The opposition would need only 13 of the 22 undetermined chairs in order to win a super majority. Upon receiving the super majority, the opposition would have the authority to remove Supreme Court justices, revoke mandates made by Maduro, and form an assembly to rewrite the constitution developed under Hugo Chavez in 1999.

In the event that the opposition falls short of the super majority, the high margin of victory is likely to cause future political battles. Since Chavez took power, the opposing party has not held a single branch of government.

Some figures in the opposition warn that the election results likely have more to do with anger toward the economic climate of Venezuela, rather than an acceptance of the opposition’s ideals. Political consultant, Francisco Marquez, who managed one of the winning campaigns said, “The opposition needs to accept this with a lot of humility.”

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