Posts
Analysis: Jose De Cordoba and Dan Molinski/ 28 Sept./
Election results show that President Hugo Chavez's party, the PSUV, won at least 95 of the 165 seats in the unicameral legislature. The opposition coalition won at least 65 seats and 52% of the popular vote.
Though both sides claimed victory, Chavez lost the two-thirds majority that has allowed his allies to ignore the opposition and rubber-stamp measures while giving the president decree powers, rewriting fundamental laws and appointing key officials such as Supreme Court justices. The results probably signal bitter confrontations ahead of Chavez's attempt for re-election in 2012.
