Venezuelan presidential election, 1993
Encyclopedia
General elections were held in Venezuela
on 5 December 1993. The presidential elections were won by Rafael Caldera
of National Convergence
, who received 30.5% of the vote. Democratic Action
remained the largest party in the Chamber of Deputies and Senate, which were elected on separate ballots for the first time. Voter turnout was 60.2%, the lowest since World War II
.
, which led to his impeachment on 20 May 1993. He was replaced by Octavio Lepage
as Acting President until Ramón José Velásquez
was elected by Congress as interim President on 5 June. An atmosphere of economic and political crisis prevailed, with general economic problems compounded by a banking crisis, and a declining legitimacy of the traditional main parties, Democratic Action
and Copei. The previous year had seen two coup attempts in February and November, reflecting widespread popular discontent with the political establishment.
Rafael Caldera
, founder of Copei, rejected his old party and led a "National Convergence
" of 17 smaller parties - including the Movement for Socialism
, the Democratic Republican Union
, the People's Electoral Movement and the Communist Party of Venezuela
. His campaign promises included pardoning the 1992 coup plotters, including Hugo Chávez
.
The Congressional elections were the first held under a mixed member proportional representation
system, modelled on the German system, with some variations. The traditionally dominant Democratic Action and Copei "supported it because it looked the most like the system under which they had prospered". The MMP system continued to use the old formula of assigning seats to states based on multiplying the total population by 0.55%, with a minimum of three deputies from each state (thus over-representing sparsely populated states). Half each state's seats were then elected in single seat districts, and the remainder by closed party list. Parties could receive up to five additional seats based on their national vote total, to provide greater proportionality.
of Radical Cause
gained 22%, and "filed complaints of irregularities, saying that officials from his party were prevented from witnessing vote counting."
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
on 5 December 1993. The presidential elections were won by Rafael Caldera
Rafael Caldera
Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez was president of Venezuela from 1969 to 1974 and again from 1994 to 1999.Caldera taught sociology and law at various universities before entering politics. He was a founding member of COPEI, Venezuela's Christian Democratic party...
of National Convergence
National Convergence
The National Convergence is a conservative/Christian democratic political party in Venezuela. It was founded in 1993 by former President of Venezuela Rafael Caldera, successfully gaining a second term in the Venezuelan presidential election, 1993. From 1995 to 2004 Eduardo Lapi held the...
, who received 30.5% of the vote. Democratic Action
Democratic Action
Democratic Action is a centrist Venezuelan political party established in 1941. The party and its antecedents played an important role in the early years of Venezuelan democracy, and led the government during Venezuela's first democratic period...
remained the largest party in the Chamber of Deputies and Senate, which were elected on separate ballots for the first time. Voter turnout was 60.2%, the lowest since World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Background
The election campaign was dominated by the corruption charges brought against sitting President Carlos Andrés PérezCarlos Andrés Pérez
Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez , also known as CAP and often referred to as El Gocho , was a Venezuelan politician, President of Venezuela from 1974 to 1979 and again from 1989 to 1993. His first presidency was known as the Saudi Venezuela due to its economic and social prosperity thanks to...
, which led to his impeachment on 20 May 1993. He was replaced by Octavio Lepage
Octavio Lepage
Octavio Lepage Barreto, was Acting President of Venezuela from 21 May 1993 to 5 June 1993....
as Acting President until Ramón José Velásquez
Ramón José Velásquez
Ramón José Velásquez Mujica is a Venezuelan political figure. He served as Acting president of Venezuela between 1993 and 1994. He is known as a historian, journalist, lawyer, politician and entertainer of companies for his knowledge of the "national life".Velásquez was born in Táchira,Venezuela...
was elected by Congress as interim President on 5 June. An atmosphere of economic and political crisis prevailed, with general economic problems compounded by a banking crisis, and a declining legitimacy of the traditional main parties, Democratic Action
Democratic Action
Democratic Action is a centrist Venezuelan political party established in 1941. The party and its antecedents played an important role in the early years of Venezuelan democracy, and led the government during Venezuela's first democratic period...
and Copei. The previous year had seen two coup attempts in February and November, reflecting widespread popular discontent with the political establishment.
Rafael Caldera
Rafael Caldera
Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez was president of Venezuela from 1969 to 1974 and again from 1994 to 1999.Caldera taught sociology and law at various universities before entering politics. He was a founding member of COPEI, Venezuela's Christian Democratic party...
, founder of Copei, rejected his old party and led a "National Convergence
National Convergence
The National Convergence is a conservative/Christian democratic political party in Venezuela. It was founded in 1993 by former President of Venezuela Rafael Caldera, successfully gaining a second term in the Venezuelan presidential election, 1993. From 1995 to 2004 Eduardo Lapi held the...
" of 17 smaller parties - including the Movement for Socialism
Movement for Socialism (Venezuela)
Movement for Socialism is a center-left political party in Venezuela.-History:The Movement for Socialism is a social-democratic political party in Venezuela. MAS was founded in 1971 by a faction of the Communist Party of Venezuela, with a view to emphasising a socialist message...
, the Democratic Republican Union
Democratic Republican Union
The Democratic Republican Union is a Venezuelan political party founded in 1945.When the party appeared on course to win the 1952 election for a constitutional assembly, dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez suspended the election...
, the People's Electoral Movement and the Communist Party of Venezuela
Communist Party of Venezuela
The Communist Party of Venezuela is a Marxist-Leninist political party, and the oldest continuously existing party in Venezuela...
. His campaign promises included pardoning the 1992 coup plotters, including Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
.
The Congressional elections were the first held under a mixed member proportional representation
Mixed member proportional representation
Mixed-member proportional representation, also termed mixed-member proportional voting and commonly abbreviated to MMP, is a voting system originally used to elect representatives to the German Bundestag, and nowadays adopted by numerous legislatures around the world...
system, modelled on the German system, with some variations. The traditionally dominant Democratic Action and Copei "supported it because it looked the most like the system under which they had prospered". The MMP system continued to use the old formula of assigning seats to states based on multiplying the total population by 0.55%, with a minimum of three deputies from each state (thus over-representing sparsely populated states). Half each state's seats were then elected in single seat districts, and the remainder by closed party list. Parties could receive up to five additional seats based on their national vote total, to provide greater proportionality.
President
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rafael Caldera Rafael Caldera Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez was president of Venezuela from 1969 to 1974 and again from 1994 to 1999.Caldera taught sociology and law at various universities before entering politics. He was a founding member of COPEI, Venezuela's Christian Democratic party... |
National Convergence National Convergence The National Convergence is a conservative/Christian democratic political party in Venezuela. It was founded in 1993 by former President of Venezuela Rafael Caldera, successfully gaining a second term in the Venezuelan presidential election, 1993. From 1995 to 2004 Eduardo Lapi held the... |
1,710,722 | 30.5 |
| Claudio Fermín Claudio Fermín Claudio Eloy Fermín Maldonado is a Venezuelan politician. He was deputy minister of youth under Jaime Lusinchi, and subsequently Mayor of Libertador municipality, Caracas for Acción Democrática, narrowly missing out on re-election to La Causa Radical's Aristóbulo Istúriz... |
Democratic Action Democratic Action Democratic Action is a centrist Venezuelan political party established in 1941. The party and its antecedents played an important role in the early years of Venezuelan democracy, and led the government during Venezuela's first democratic period... |
1,326,287 | 23.6 |
| Oswaldo Álvarez Paz Oswaldo Álvarez Paz Oswaldo Álvarez Paz is a Venezuelan politician.He was born in Maracaibo, Zulia and graduated in Law from the University of Zulia... |
Copei | 1,276,506 | 22.7 |
| Andrés Velásquez Andrés Velásquez Andrés Velásquez is a Venezuelan politician associated with Radical Cause . Formerly the general secretary of the steelworkers union of SIDOR, he became one of the leaders of Radical Cause after the death of its founder, Alfredo Maneiro, in 1982... |
Radical Cause Radical Cause The Radical Cause is a working class political party in Venezuela, part of the Venezuelan opposition to president Hugo Chavez... |
1,232,653 | 21.9 |
| Modesto Rivero | Authentic Renewal Organisation | 20,814 | 0.4 |
| Nelso Ojeda Valenzuela | FPI | 18,690 | 0.3 |
| Luis Alberto Machado | RDLI | 6,851 | 0.1 |
| Fernando Bianco | CEM | 5,590 | 0.1 |
| José Antonio Cova | New Democratic Generation | 4,937 | 0.1 |
| Gabriel Puerta Aponte | Movement for Popular Democracy | 3,746 | 0.1 |
| Rhona Otolina | Formula 1 | 3,633 | 0.1 |
| Romuló Abreu Duarte | FEVO | 1,554 | 0.0 |
| Jesús Tang | National Party | 1,251 | 0.0 |
| Blas García Núñez | PEV | 1,198 | 0.0 |
| Juán Chacín | PODIN | 981 | 0.0 |
| Carmen de González | Nationalist Civic Crusade | 866 | 0.0 |
| Felix Díaz Ortega | New Order | 780 | 0.0 |
| Temistocles Fernández | IT | 640 | 0.0 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 212,517 | – | |
| Total | 5,829,216 | 100 | |
| Source: Nohlen | |||
Senate
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Action Democratic Action Democratic Action is a centrist Venezuelan political party established in 1941. The party and its antecedents played an important role in the early years of Venezuelan democracy, and led the government during Venezuela's first democratic period... |
1,165,322 | 24.1 | 16 | |
| Copei | 1,103,896 | 22.8 | 14 | |
| Radical Cause Radical Cause The Radical Cause is a working class political party in Venezuela, part of the Venezuelan opposition to president Hugo Chavez... |
1,005,816 | 20.8 | 9 | |
| National Convergence National Convergence The National Convergence is a conservative/Christian democratic political party in Venezuela. It was founded in 1993 by former President of Venezuela Rafael Caldera, successfully gaining a second term in the Venezuelan presidential election, 1993. From 1995 to 2004 Eduardo Lapi held the... |
650,352 | 13.4 | 6 | New |
| Movement for Socialism Movement for Socialism (Venezuela) Movement for Socialism is a center-left political party in Venezuela.-History:The Movement for Socialism is a social-democratic political party in Venezuela. MAS was founded in 1971 by a faction of the Communist Party of Venezuela, with a view to emphasising a socialist message... |
526,197 | 10.9 | 5 | – |
| Authentic Renewal Organisation | 41,157 | 0.9 | 0 | 0 |
| People's Electoral Movement | 26,545 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Democratic Republican Union Democratic Republican Union The Democratic Republican Union is a Venezuelan political party founded in 1945.When the party appeared on course to win the 1952 election for a constitutional assembly, dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez suspended the election... |
25,732 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| National Integration Movement | 23,459 | 0.5 | 0 | New |
| Communist Party of Venezuela Communist Party of Venezuela The Communist Party of Venezuela is a Marxist-Leninist political party, and the oldest continuously existing party in Venezuela... |
14,159 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Emerging People | 10,709 | 0.2 | 0 | New |
| 147 Other parties | 242,000 | 5.0 | 0 | – |
| Invalid/blank votes | 1,117,998 | – | – | – |
| Total | 5,829,216 | 100 | 50 | +4 |
| Source: Nohlen | ||||
Chamber of Deputies
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Action Democratic Action Democratic Action is a centrist Venezuelan political party established in 1941. The party and its antecedents played an important role in the early years of Venezuelan democracy, and led the government during Venezuela's first democratic period... |
1,099,728 | 23.3 | 55 | |
| Copei | 1,065,512 | 22.6 | 33 | |
| Radical Cause Radical Cause The Radical Cause is a working class political party in Venezuela, part of the Venezuelan opposition to president Hugo Chavez... |
974,190 | 20.7 | 40 | |
| National Convergence National Convergence The National Convergence is a conservative/Christian democratic political party in Venezuela. It was founded in 1993 by former President of Venezuela Rafael Caldera, successfully gaining a second term in the Venezuelan presidential election, 1993. From 1995 to 2004 Eduardo Lapi held the... |
651,918 | 13.8 | 26 | New |
| Movement for Socialism Movement for Socialism (Venezuela) Movement for Socialism is a center-left political party in Venezuela.-History:The Movement for Socialism is a social-democratic political party in Venezuela. MAS was founded in 1971 by a faction of the Communist Party of Venezuela, with a view to emphasising a socialist message... |
509,068 | 10.8 | 24 | – |
| Authentic Renewal Organisation | 41,085 | 0.9 | 1 | |
| National Integration Movement | 29,433 | 0.6 | 1 | New |
| People's Electoral Movement | 27,635 | 0.6 | 1 | |
| Democratic Republican Union Democratic Republican Union The Democratic Republican Union is a Venezuelan political party founded in 1945.When the party appeared on course to win the 1952 election for a constitutional assembly, dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez suspended the election... |
26,299 | 0.6 | 1 | |
| Communist Party of Venezuela Communist Party of Venezuela The Communist Party of Venezuela is a Marxist-Leninist political party, and the oldest continuously existing party in Venezuela... |
21,180 | 0.4 | 0 | |
| New Democratic Generation | 264,996 | 5.6 | 1 | |
| Other parties | 0 | – | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 1,117,998 | – | – | – |
| Total | 5,829,216 | 100 | 203 | +2 |
| Source: Nohlen | ||||
Aftermath
Andrés VelásquezAndrés Velásquez
Andrés Velásquez is a Venezuelan politician associated with Radical Cause . Formerly the general secretary of the steelworkers union of SIDOR, he became one of the leaders of Radical Cause after the death of its founder, Alfredo Maneiro, in 1982...
of Radical Cause
Radical Cause
The Radical Cause is a working class political party in Venezuela, part of the Venezuelan opposition to president Hugo Chavez...
gained 22%, and "filed complaints of irregularities, saying that officials from his party were prevented from witnessing vote counting."