Chamber:
	Cámara de Diputados
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	4 December 1988
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all the seats in Parliament on the normal expiry of the members' term of office.
Background and outcome of elections:
	As is customary in Venezuela, the congressional elections coincided with those for President of the Republic. Leading contenders among the more than 20 candidates for the latter post were Mr. Carlos Andrez Perez of the ruling Democratic Action (AD) party and Mr. Eduardo Fernandez of the centrist Social Christian Party (COPEI – Comité de Organización Política Electoral Independiente). Mr. Perez had already been President from 1974 to 1979. During the somewhat acrimonious and costly seven-month campaign, the two above-mentioned candidates advocated similar economic programmes. Mr. Perez calling for a renegotiations of Venezuela's large foreign debt (aggravated by the dropping world prices for oil, the main export product) and a limit on annual debt service payments. He also sought a stronger role for the country in Central American diplomacy and in promoting co-operation among Latin American nations. A dominant issue in the final weeks of the campaign was the long-standing dispute with neighbouring Colombia over territorial waters in the Gulf of Venezuela. On polling day, Mr. Perez won the five-year presidential term convincingly and the socialist AD also triumphed in the Congress, although losing its absolute majorities in the two Chambers. On 13 January 1989, President-elected Perez announced the make-up of his Cabinet, which was to take office on 2 February. The newly-elected Congress was sworn in on 23 January.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (4 December 1988): Elections results
Number of registered electors	9,185,647
Voters	7,524,691 (81.9%)
Blank or invalid ballot papers	209,505
Valid votes	7,315,186

Round no 1: Distribution of votes
Political Group	Votes*	%*
Democratic Action (AD)	3,115,787	43.3
Social Christian Party (COPEI)	2,238,163	31.1
Movement toward Socialism – Revolutionary Left Movement (MAS-MIR)	731,179	10.2
New Democratic Generation (NGD)	238,038	3.3
Radical Cause (LCR)	118,700	1.7
People's Electoral Movement (MEP)	116,284	1.6
Democratic Republican Union (URD)	103,933	1.4
Formula I Rhona	93,851	1.3
Organization of Authentic Renovation (ORA)	92,756	1.3
Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV)	69,069	0.9
National Opinion (OPINA)	42,078	0.6
National Integration Movement (MIN)	34,056	0.5

Comments:
	* These results relate to both chambers of the Congress

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total
Democratic Action (AD)	97
Social Christian Party (COPEI)	67
Movement toward Socialism – Revolutionary Left Movement (MAS-MIR)	18
New Democratic Generation (NGD)	6
Radical Cause (LCR)	3
People's Electoral Movement (MEP)	2
Democratic Republican Union (URD)	2
Formula I Rhona	2
Organization of Authentic Renovation (ORA)	2
Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV)	1
National Opinion (OPINA)	1
National Integration Movement (MIN)	-

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	181
Women:	20