The electoral bases proposed by President Hugo Chávez and revised by the CNE were approved. A proportional representation system to select of the members of the National Constituent Assembly was discarded, and in its place a personalized uninominal direct representation system was established, which divided the country into two great national circuits and one electoral circuit for each state, a system in disuse since the dictatorship of Juan Vicente Gómez.[3]
Conduct
Each voter had 10 votes.[4] Voter turnout was 46.2%.[4]
Results
The result of the election of constituents was the over-representation of Chavismo in the Constituent Assembly and a crushing defeat for the opposition, which had once again gone to the polls divided. With 65% of the votes, Chavismo obtained more than 95% of the constituents.[citation needed] The Patriotic Pole won 121 of the 128 seats, whilst an additional three seats were taken by representatives of indigenous communities elected by indigenous associations.[2] Although the great majority of the candidates were civil society members, outside the political parties, the lack of unity atomized their efforts.[5] As such, 33% of the forces that voted for candidates unrelated to the Chavismo only managed to have seven constituents, one of them being Antonia Muñoz, a dissident Chavista who soon rejoined the ruling party.[5]
Party
Votes
%
Seats
Patriotic Pole
29,424,635
65.80
121
Democratic Pole
9,873,223
22.08
4
Other parties
5,423,183
12.13
3
Indigenous representatives
3
Total
44,721,041
100.00
131
Total votes
5,079,445
–
Registered voters/turnout
10,986,871
46.23
Source: Nohlen
Aftermath
Political parties and civil associations were marginalized from the constituent process, and the role of opposition then fell on the state institutions, where the Congress and the Supreme Court stand out. After the elections, Democratic Action and Copei experienced internal crises: the former announced new base elections to renew the party, and the directive of the latter resigned immediately.[6]
