by Temitope Oladeji
26/5/2025
Venezuela’s ruling socialist party has retained its dominant control of the National Assembly, securing nearly 83% of the vote in Sunday’s legislative elections, according to the country’s electoral authority.
The results, however, were marked by a significant opposition boycott and growing political polarization.
The vote took place amid a deep divide within Venezuela’s opposition, with several prominent leaders urging a nationwide abstention in protest of the disputed results of the July 2024 presidential election.
Opposition leaders maintain that their candidate won that race, while official results declared a victory for President Nicolás Maduro’s party.
The legislative outcome ensures continued control by the ruling party over key state institutions, including the attorney general’s office and the Supreme Court, whose members are appointed by the legislature.
While the National Electoral Council (CNE) did not provide a complete breakdown of seats, it named 40 individual winners across party lines.
CNE rector Carlos Quintero announced on state television that a pro-government coalition secured 6.25% of the vote, while an opposition alliance garnered just 5.17%.
Voter turnout was reported at 42.6% of the 21 million eligible voters, a figure roughly in line with participation in the 2021 elections.
The vote covered the selection of 285 lawmakers and 24 state governors.
Opposition parties won just one governorship, in Cojedes state, west of Caracas, a significant drop from the four governorships secured in the 2021 elections.
Opposition figures María Corina Machado and Edmundo González, who head the Vente Venezuela coalition, led the boycott campaign, calling the election illegitimate.
Both leaders cited what they and international human rights groups have described as an intensifying crackdown on dissent, including recent detentions of opposition figures.
Throughout election day, Machado and González posted images of largely empty polling stations, asserting that public response to the boycott was widespread.
Meanwhile, the government extended voting hours, insisting that turnout was strong.
A rival opposition bloc, led by two-time presidential candidate Henrique Capriles and Zulia state governor Manuel Rosales, took a different approach, urging participation to prevent the opposition from being entirely excluded from governance.
Capriles was elected to the new National Assembly, while Rosales lost his re-election bid for governor.
The election further consolidates the ruling party’s institutional grip, even as questions surrounding electoral integrity and political repression continue to draw condemnation from both domestic critics and international observers.