Chamber:
	Asamblea Nacional
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	30 July 2000
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all the seats in the new National Assembly under the new Constitution of December 1999.
Background and outcome of elections:
	President Hugo Chávez was re-elected on 30 July 2000 for a new six-year term, polling nearly 60 percent of the vote in the presidential election called under the new Constitution. According to the new Constitution a President can serve a maximum of two six-year terms. The old 1961 Constitution had five-year terms and prohibited immediate re-election. Mr Chávez had been elected in December 1998 after promising a peaceful "social revolution" in the country. The July 2000 elections, the fourth national elections in two years, were called to "relegitimise" his mandate and elect governors of the 23 states, mayors of 334 municipalities and 165 members of a new unicameral National Assembly as well as seats in state legislatures and on city councils. More than 35,000 candidates ran for about 6,000 posts. The elections were to have been held on 28 May 2000 but had been postponed by the Supreme Court on the grounds that the technical conditions were not in place to guarantee a fair and transparent contest. During the electoral campaign that ended on 27 July, the incumbent President promised to get the country's economy back on its feet and improve social conditions. His main challenger and erstwhile comrade-in-arms, Mr Francisco Arias Cárdenas, a former governor of Zulia state, stressed the need for free and fair elections and promised to create half a million new jobs if elected. Mr Arias helped Mr Chávez stage a failed 1992 coup d'état but had since broken with the President. The polling day was marked by long lines but few other problems. Despite the long waits of up to four hours, an estimated 56 per cent of Venezuela's 11 million eligible voters cast their ballots. International observers attributed delays to the complexity of the ballot and a shortage of computerised voting machines, about 5 per cent of which malfunctioned. The observers declared the vote clean and fair. According to the final results, Mr Chávez's Fifth Republic Movement (MVR) won 93 of the 165 seats in the National Assembly while his allies in the Movement to Socialism (MAS), obtained six seats. The Democratic Action Party (AD) emerged as the second largest bloc in the National Assembly with 32 seats. Its counterpart, the Social Christian Party (COPEI), won five seats. These two parties had shared power since the dictatorship of Mr Marcos Pérez Jiménez ended in 1958. Mr Chávez fell short of the absolute two-thirds majority in the legislature that he would need to overrule any opposition. For the first time since he became President, he will need to negotiate and make deals to ensure approval for his most radical changes. On 19 August 2000, Mr Chávez was sworn in for the third time in two years and promised to launch an ambitious new economic policy aimed at pushing through a social revolution for the poor.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (30 July 2000): Elections results
Number of registered electors	10 550 469
Voters	5 948 531 (56 %)

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total
Patriotic Pole	99
Democratic Action (AD)	32
Project Venezuela (PRYZL)	7
Social Christian Party (COPEI)	4
Others	23

Comments:
	Patriotic Pole is comprised of the Fifth Republic Movement (93 seats) and the Movement towards Socialism (6 seats)

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	149
Women:	16
Percent of women:	9.70 %