CARACAS, (Reuters) – Venezuela’s ruling Socialist Party and allies took 10 percentage points more votes than opposition rivals in Sunday’s election for mayors that was a test of strength for President Nicolas Maduro, final results showed yesterday.
Though the ballot for mayors in the South American nation was a symbolic victory for Maduro’s sometimes shaky-looking presidency, it also underlined the strength of his opponents in urban centers and the deep divisions of Venezuelan society.
The election board said pro-government candidates won 54 percent of the total, garnering 242 mayoralties at Sunday’s ballot. The opposition Democratic Unity coalition and its partners took 44 percent, winning 75 mayoralties.
The final results, which reflected the government’s greater strength in rural areas where there are more mayoralties, was a wider win for the socialists than the 6.5 percentage points given in first results hours after the vote.
Though disappointed in not winning an overall vote majority, opposition leader Henrique Capriles and others on his side have taken solace from winning most of the biggest cities, including the capital Caracas and the second city Maracaibo.
They even took Barinas, capital of the home state of the late Hugo Chavez, Maduro’s predecessor.
“It was a lukewarm triumph for ‘Chavismo’, spoilt by the opposition’s win in symbolic cities,” local pollster Luis Vicente Leon said, referring to the movement named for Chavez.
The opposition had appeared to be heading for a better result until Maduro launched a populist “economic offensive” in early November, sending soldiers and inspectors into shops to force retailers to reduce prices.
