Venezuela opposition wins supermajority in National Assembly

In this Dec. 6, 2015 photo, the emblematic 23 De Enero apartment complex is covered with a banner that reads in Spanish "Vote for PSUV, we're those of Chavez" during congressional elections in Caracas, Venezuela. The district patrolled by pro-government motorcycle gangs turned against the socialist party for the first time Sunday, part of a tide of voters who punished the government for the country’s collapsing economy and handed the opposition a landslide victory in legislative elections. (AP Photo/Alejandro Cegarra) In this Dec. 6, 2015 photo, the emblematic 23 De Enero apartment complex is covered with a banner that reads in Spanish "Vote for PSUV, we're those of Chavez" during congressional elections in Caracas, Venezuela. The district patrolled by pro-government motorcycle gangs turned against the socialist party for the first time Sunday, part of a tide of voters who punished the government for the country’s collapsing economy and handed the opposition a landslide victory in legislative elections. (AP Photo/Alejandro Cegarra)

By Associated Press December 8, 2015 1 min read

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – Electoral authorities in Venezuela say the opposition coalition won a key two-thirds majority in the National Assembly in legislative voting.

The National Electoral Council has published on its website the final tally of results from Sunday’s elections showing that two previously undecided races had broken in favor of the opposition, giving them 112 out of 167 seats in the incoming National Assembly. The ruling socialist party and its allies got 55 seats.

The supermajority gives the opposition a strong hand in trying to wrest power from President Nicolas Maduro after 17 years of socialist rule. It now has the potential votes to sack Supreme Court justices, initiate a referendum to revoke Maduro’s mandate and even convoke an assembly to rewrite Hugo Chavez’s 1999 constitution.