2005 Venezuelan parliamentary election

Summary

Parliamentary elections were held in Venezuela on 4 December 2005 to elect the 167 deputies to the National Assembly of Venezuela, twelve deputies to the Latin American Parliament and five deputies to the Andean Parliament. Several days prior to the elections, five opposition parties unexpectedly withdrew, shortly after a dispute over the voting process had apparently been resolved with the support of the Organization of American States (OAS). The opposition had been expected to get around a third of the Assembly seats, or even less; the withdrawal meant the opposition were scarcely represented in the parliament at all, as the opposition parties which did not withdraw failed to win any seats. 114 seats went to the President's Fifth Republic Movement (MVR) – up from 86,[1] with the remaining 53 going to "smaller pro-Chávez parties as well as to independents and representatives of some social groups that support the government".[2]

2005 Venezuelan parliamentary election
Republic of Venezuela
← 2000 4 December 2005 2010 →

All 167 seats in the National Assembly
84 seats needed for a majority
Party Leader % Seats
MVR–UVE Hugo Chávez 60.06 118
PODEMOS 8.16 18
PPT José Albornoz 5.81 10
CPV 2.78 7
LAGO 1.82 1
UPV 1.36 1
MEP 1.14 1
MIGATO 0.76 1
MIGENTE 0.60 2
MUPI 0.31 1
FIOPP 0.27 1
Open the Gap 0.14 1
PUAMA 0.09 1
CONIVE 2
AMANSA 1
FUNACIDI 1
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

Both the Organization of American States (OAS) and the European Union sent delegations to observe the elections.[2] In the runup to the election, there were concerns about the use of digital fingerprint scanners as part of the voting process. On 28 November the National Electoral Council (CNE), in a decision brokered by the OAS, announced that it would not use the controversial machines. Several days later five opposition parties withdrew from the elections.[2]

Both the EU and the OAS noted a widespread distrust of the National Electoral Council. "The OAS delegation noted that there remains a distrust of the CNE on the part of a significant segment of the population in terms of the origin and composition of the CNE and the perception that its actions lack transparency and impartiality."[2] The OAS recommended democratic discussion of various aspects of the electoral process to improve trust in the system.

The election proceeded largely without incident, although three small bombs were exploded in Caracas, injuring one police officer.[1]

Campaign edit

Pre-election polls edit

"In the lead-up to the December 2005 election, observers predicted that the opposition would struggle to win one-third of the seats in the Assembly and that the pro-Chávez parties would win a two-thirds majority control of the legislature."[2]

Electoral process audit edit

Since its announcement, the process was highly criticized by Henry Ramos Allup (secretary general of Democratic Action), Teodoro Petkoff (Movement for Socialism) and Manuel Rosales (A New Era).[3] An audit was made in presence of the National Electoral Council (CNE), OAS international observers and several political parties.[4][5] During the audit, the opposition argued that the electoral machines recorded the sequence of the votes, while fingerprint scanners recorded the information of each voter. According to Ramos Allup, the fingerprint scanners allowed the electoral agencies to know which was the choice made by the voter, as demonstrated by computer technicians in the last few days before the CNE and international observers. He also denounced that the access to the software that registers the votes and the electoral roll was restricted to opponents and observers.[6] The fingerprint scanners were altogether not connected to and in different places than the voting machines, and the lines of voters at each of the machine groups were unrelated. The opposition put forward the case that it was possible to unscramble the information, stating that cross-matching the data between the two machines could potentially show the voting details of those who voted. The reconstruction of the data is possible due to the requirement of access to the voting machines and knowledge of the password. The CNE agreed to format the data held on the voting machines as soon as these finished transmitting their precinct totals to the CNE. As long as every voting machine also printed its precinct totals, it was easy for all involved parties to check the validity of the data as reported in both instances, the printed precinct totals and the partial results reported in the CNE tallying center.[4][5]

Both the Organization of American States (OAS) and the European Union sent delegations to observe the elections.[2] On 28 November the National Electoral Council (CNE), in a decision brokered by the OAS, announced that it would not use the controversial machines. The CNE stood by its claim that the fingerprint scanners were not usable to identify the votes. The same devices had been used on the 2004 recall referendum, and the state governors' elections that same year.

Political parties' withdrawal edit

Democratic Action (Acción Democrática) withdrew from the election on 28 November, six days before the electoral process, showing its distrust of the National Electoral Council.[7] On 30 November, COPEI (the Social Christian Party of Venezuela), Project Venezuela (Proyecto Venezuela), Justice First (Primero Justicia), A New Era (Un Nuevo Tiempo) and Movement for Socialism (Movimiento al Socialismo) all withdrew from the elections too.[8][9] The political parties represented the majority of the opposition forces in the country.[10]

The deadline for candidate withdrawal was Saturday, 3 December, at 4:00 pm. The CNE announced that not all of the boycotting political parties formally withdrew, meaning that only 10.08% of the candidates were officially out of the elections.[11] The withdrawals left most opposition parties outside the election. Red Flag Party (Partido Bandera Roja) and Democratic Left (Izquierda Democrática) participated in the election but won no seats.[citation needed]

Results edit

The CNE announced preliminary results that showed that the pro-Chávez party Fifth Republic Movement won 114 out of 167 seats in the National Assembly, and all other seats were won by allied parties. The Fifth Republic Movement list also received 89% of the vote for the Latin American Parliament[12] and the Andean Parliament.[13] The turnout in the election was about 25% compared to 50 to 60% in previous parliamentary elections (1998 and 2000).[14]

The results were a very important issue in Venezuela, since a two-thirds majority in parliament was needed to change the constitution and the elections gave the Fifth Republic Movement a sufficient majority to change the constitution with or without the support of other political parties.[15][16]

PartyVotes%Seats
Fifth Republic Movement1,871,86055.08118
Unit of Election Winners169,4334.99
For Social Democracy277,4828.1618
Fatherland for All197,4595.8110
Communist Party of Venezuela94,6062.787
Optimistic People61,7891.821
Venezuelan Popular Unity46,2321.361
Tupamaro42,8931.260
People's Electoral Movement38,6901.141
Independents for National Community31,1440.920
MIGATO25,7100.761
Mobare 200-4F22,9950.680
Militant Civic Movement21,0120.620
Movement of Integration for the People20,4820.602
Radical Cause18,9600.560
Republican Movement18,6010.550
United for Human Rights18,2080.540
Only One People15,9810.470
Justice First15,9390.470
National Salvation Movement14,1390.420
Emerging Popele12,9240.380
Socialist League11,9300.350
PVL11,3420.330
Social Independent Alliance of Sucre10,5150.310
United Movement of Indigenous Peoples10,4930.311
Network of People9,8400.290
Patriotic Union9,1280.270
Movement for Socialism9,1180.270
Organised Independent Front for Portuguesa9,0420.271
Labour Power8,2720.240
Democratic Action8,0000.240
Active Nationalist Democracy Organisation7,8680.230
Agricultural Action7,8430.230
Popular Front6,8850.200
Independent Electoral Political Organisation Committee6,7300.200
Independent Movement for Maracaibo6,2130.180
Independent Movement for Zulia6,0580.180
Alternative Revolutionary Independent Movement of Guarico5,8080.170
Project Venezuela5,6450.170
RZ-20215,1580.150
Patriotic Union of Carabobo4,8990.140
Open the Gap4,5990.141
Movement for Direct Democracy4,5530.130
Dialogue4,3650.130
For the Love of the City3,6670.110
Free Voters3,6040.110
Renewing Democracy3,4900.100
Solution3,3910.100
United Youth in National Action with Bimba3,3570.100
Independent Organisation for Reunification and Stability3,2200.090
Frutos Regional Party3,2090.090
Let Us Break Chains3,1940.090
United Multi-Ethnic Peoples of Amazonas3,1800.091
Independent Ethnic Rescue with Alternative Ideals3,1020.090
Consensus2,9280.090
Rebirth2,9110.090
New Dawn2,8360.080
Democratic Republican Union2,7760.080
National Opinion2,7740.080
Red Flag Party2,6910.080
New Day2,6800.080
Movement of New People2,6350.080
Portuguesa is First2,5820.080
Independent Solidarity2,4840.070
Revolution in the Region2,3330.070
National Integration Front2,3210.070
Movement of Participation and Protagonism of the People2,2960.070
Centre2,2820.070
HALCOM2,1880.060
Democrat Party2,1730.060
MISOLA Party2,1630.060
Indigenous Parliament of Venezuela2,1380.060
FRD2,0840.060
Venezuela First1,9610.060
Cojedes Regional Force of Integration1,9080.060
Solidarity1,8830.060
Movimiento Conciencia de País1,7880.050
Zamoranos de Venezuela Patria y Vida1,7500.050
Popular Organization for Work and Revolutionary Action1,6720.050
Left1,6460.050
Labour Movement1,5780.050
LGP1,5670.050
LG1,5220.040
PRR1,5220.040
Electoral Generation of Monagüense Integrity1,4890.040
FAI1,4420.040
MPSDCP1,4300.040
Movimiento Independiente Revolucionario Alternativo1,2800.040
Venezuelan Revolutionary Currents1,2250.040
AZ1,1910.040
Volunteers for Democracy1,1900.040
MAPV Party1,1630.030
Constructors of a Country1,1590.030
PDI1,1490.030
Jose Hernandez IP1,1310.030
PODER 71,1200.030
Third Millennium Venezuela1,0810.030
OFI1,0500.030
CD1,0360.030
Organised Youth of Venezuela1,0070.030
MT9890.030
National Party9520.030
Independent Community Organized Movement9230.030
21st Century Movement9230.030
NED8950.030
Community Change Response Networks8850.030
NE8830.030
MPRCOL8450.020
FUVE8310.020
PROSOYAR8140.020
Militant Compromise8100.020
Neighbourhood Community Movement7940.020
Independent Organized Generation of Electoral Tactics7740.020
MRGD7670.020
ESO7530.020
Urgencia Solidaria de Transformación Estadal Democrática7490.020
The Spark7200.020
UPR7060.020
Deltana Justice7030.020
UNI7030.020
National Democracy Party7010.020
Testimonio Optimista Neoespartano Generador de Oportunidades6650.020
PA6620.020
FLACSI6610.020
Neighbourhood Activity Political Party6550.020
Liberal Force6440.020
FVI6260.020
Vision Venezuela6150.020
Authentic Renewal Organization6060.020
Together for Trujillo Movement6010.020
New Pact5990.020
United for the State of Monagas5890.020
MIODUDO5870.020
MH5800.020
Communal Alliance of Miranda5740.020
Growing Vision5600.020
Movement of National Action5590.020
Independente Popular Alliance5530.020
United Front Movement5450.020
Experiencia Social Tenacidad Adelante Nosotros Ganamos5410.020
COAS5180.020
ARDE5110.020
Socialist Left Party5070.010
National Independent Union of Social Organizations5050.010
MOE4910.010
OI4860.010
We Are Vargas Independent Movement4830.010
MOMASO4740.010
PCH4690.010
AAmazonian Citizen Action4680.010
MOMUDEMI4680.010
PTC4680.010
Patriotic Union of Guarico4510.010
FURPAR4480.010
FELO4430.010
Marlene Diaz IP4400.010
REACA4360.010
GETION4250.010
MIVO4250.010
National Independent Organization4250.010
TUV4180.010
Civil Society 954170.010
Independents for Venezuela Party4160.010
LAP4140.010
TIO4080.010
Nationalist Civic Crusade4060.010
Project Carabobo4060.010
The People Advance4030.010
Republican Vanguard Force3990.010
FURE 20033900.010
LPBUENA3880.010
Renovación Organizada Grupo Emergente3880.010
EB3790.010
Amigos de Alianza Libertadora Independente3780.010
RIN3750.010
PANV3690.010
MRG20003650.010
MLiberal United People's Movement3630.010
National Authentic Party3620.010
PRE‐VE3570.010
MARADE3550.010
Caroni Decides3520.010
Popular Youth Rising3480.010
URM 20213420.010
ORECOM3410.010
Independent Revolutionary Union3400.010
Independents for Venezuela3360.010
Federal Republican Party3260.010
ED3230.010
VINE3200.010
Organised Independent Party3170.010
TC3150.010
The Alliance3100.010
Popular Christian Movement3080.010
PORD3080.010
Luces2990.010
Independents to 20002960.010
MORAL2950.010
MIL2890.010
REALCI2840.010
Avanagua Party2760.010
UBARI2740.010
IPGENERO2670.010
MOVELA2650.010
RDP2650.010
National Rescue2650.010
Independent Amazonian Indigenous Movement2620.010
RESISTE2600.010
GEP2580.010
UREVAR2570.010
Sandinista Renewal Movement2530.010
Rumbo Seguro2520.010
Caduaico Party2500.010
My People of Aragua Movement2500.010
Centro Histórico Ético De Opinión2490.010
RASA2490.010
CER2480.010
Strength with Cati2480.010
Municipal Action2470.010
ARI2470.010
PUNTO2430.010
PILA2410.010
Moral Reserve2380.010
Independent Candidate2350.010
Social Cause2310.010
DMAA2250.010
OPC 982250.010
HP2220.010
El Barrio2190.010
MJV2180.010
MIPREA2170.010
Propuesta Independiente Local Organizado Naciente2130.010
Rodolfo Parra IP2090.010
Epales2080.010
UNEI2070.010
VE2070.010
MLI2050.010
CA2030.010
FIMP2020.010
FUCI2020.010
POP2020.010
BIEM2000.010
MIVEy2000.010
FUERTE1930.010
Mirandan People1930.010
PEI1910.010
CF1900.010
Independent Movement1900.010
LAC1890.010
Popular Base1880.010
COIN1830.010
MIO1830.010
Advanced Regional Movement1760.010
Ideal1740.010
EPSA1680.000
Arcomun1620.000
PFPy1600.000
Civic Democratic Front1580.000
Guaraira Party1540.000
Aserne Party1520.000
Yaracuy Movimos1480.000
AV-981460.000
The Third Way1420.000
Popular Tribune1390.000
DS1380.000
RRP1380.000
MEA1360.000
PG1350.000
Justicia, Rectitud, Lealtad1250.000
Ritmo1220.000
Bolivarian Military Civic Front1190.000
Nosotros Organizados Elegimos1190.000
Migdonio Barrios- IP1150.000
Communal Alliance of Guárico1120.000
Citizens United for Democracy1090.000
LD1090.000
UFS1090.000
People of Vargas1080.000
TANETANE1010.000
UCP1000.000
G-2000950.000
New Direction of Amazonas930.000
IS870.000
UNEA850.000
Citizen Force840.000
Popular Democratic Force820.000
AB­‐2000800.000
UNA POBA760.000
Teofilio Araya IP720.000
PRID680.000
MISOL670.000
Oriente630.000
PAR600.000
New Party590.000
Famay580.000
Andi570.000
MIIO570.000
BS-­‐21 Party490.000
PCYVSNE480.000
PNL420.000
MIADELA230.000
POPA80.000
PISF60.000
AMANSA1
Indigenous seats3
Total3,398,567100.00167
Valid votes3,398,56794.28
Invalid/blank votes206,1745.72
Total votes3,604,741100.00
Registered voters/turnout14,272,96425.26
Source: Election Passport, CNE, OPLAL

Reactions edit

The opposition and international observers said that the abstention rate of about 75% demonstrated a deep distrust in the electoral process and the Chávez government.

After the elections, divisions emerged over the last minute withdrawal from the elections. Primero Justicia followers in particular regretted missing the opportunity to be seen as the major opposition after the withdrawal of Democratic Action and COPEI.[17]

"The move surprised election officials, and some reports indicate that international observers were unhappy that the opposition had reneged on a commitment to participate in the elections if the digital fingerprint machines were not used."[2] "In particular, the EU stated the CNE's decision to eliminate the digital fingerprint devices from the voting process was timely, effective, and constructive, and noted with surprise the opposition's withdrawal just four days before the election."[2] The OAS criticized the withdrawal, saying that democracy requires an opposition committed to the electoral process.[2]

The New York Times said that "The opposition decision appeared to be aimed at appealing to international support and discrediting Venezuela's government, which has strong approval ratings."[10] José Miguel Vivanco, the Americas director of Human Rights Watch, was quoted as saying "It's really hard to understand what exactly the political opposition leadership has in mind. But certainly it is not going to help them to present themselves as victims that deserve solidarity from the international community. With these kinds of tactics I don't think they'll gain any ground."[10]

References edit

  1. ^ a b The Washington Post, 5 December 2005, Chavez Allies Are Poised To Solidify Their Majority
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Mark Sullivan, Congressional Research Service, 28 July 2009, Venezuela: Political Conditions and U.S. Policy. (Archived at)
  3. ^ "¿ES DICTADURA O NO? | ABC DE LA SEMANA". www.abcdelasemana.com (in European Spanish). Archived from the original on 16 June 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  4. ^ a b El Universal, 28 November 2005, OPPOSITION AGAINST FINGERPRINT READING MACHINES Archived 10 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ a b El Universal, 30 November 2005, OPPOSITION AT ODDS Archived 13 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "La oposición se retira de las elecciones legislativas en Venezuela - Wikinoticias". es.wikinews.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  7. ^ S.A.P., El Mercurio (29 November 2005). "Venezuela: Partidos opositores se retiran de elecciones | Emol.com". Emol (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  8. ^ "Partidos de oposición se retiran de las elecciones parlamentarias". Venelogía (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  9. ^ BBC, 1 December 2005, Venezuela election boycott widens
  10. ^ a b c Juan Forero, The New York Times, 5 December 2005, "Chávez's Grip Tightens as Rivals Boycott Vote"
  11. ^ (in Spanish) CNE, 3 December 2005, SÓLO 10.08% DE LOS CANDIDATOS RENUNCIÓ OFICIALMENTE ANTE EL CNE
  12. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2005.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ^ "Resultados Electorales para Diputado o Diputada al Parlamento Andino Diputado o Diputada Lista al Parlamento Andino". cne.gov.ve. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  14. ^ (in Spanish) El Universal, 4 December 2005, CNE ANUNCIA QUE LA PARTICIPACIÓN ALCANZÓ 25 POR CIENTO
  15. ^ BBC, 5 December 2005, Venezuela 'landslide' for Chavez
  16. ^ CNE, Cronograma Archived 18 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ The Daily Journal, 16 December 2005, "Defeat and victory sow dissent", archived at archive.org

External links edit

  • Con cerca del 70% de abstención, Chávez obtiene la victoria en las elecciones legislativas, Wikinoticias, 5 December 2005
  • La oposición se retira de las elecciones legislativas en Venezuela, Wikinoticias, 3 December 2005
  • (in Spanish) OAS section on the Venezuelan parliamentary elections, 2005