After 17 years of losing to the socialist camp, Venezuela's opposition sworn in today as the majority in the National Assembly. It was said to be the worst-ever defeat for the socialist movement which was founded by Hugo Chavez in1999.
The National Electoral Council announced the opposition had won 99 seats. The announcement was made five hours after polling ended. The socialist have gained 46 seats, with another 22 seat to be declared. The result of the election arrived much later than expected, and after the winner was announced, fireworks erupted over the capital, Caracas then followed afterwards.
President Maduro of the Socialist camp has admitted such defeat and has appeared on television saying, "We have come with our morals and our ethics to recognize these adverse results, to accept them and to say to our Venezuela that the constitution and democracy have triumphed,"
Many supporters of the opposition accompanied the incoming lawmakers past a heavy military barricade to the legislature downtown. Meanwhile, a few blocks away, hundreds of government supporters also gathered outside the presidential palace to express their grief to what they called the 'bourgeois parliament.'
The victory of the oppositions was already felt by the public and change was already palpable. For the first time in many years, journalists and other media personnels were granted access to the legislature and state TV broadcast interviews with the opposition political leaders.
A longtime observer of elections in Venezuela, Jennifer McCoy, said the coming weeks will tell whether the opposition and the government can put aside their mutual hatred and move forward for the good of the country. McCoy, who is now director of the Global Studies Institute at Georgia State University said, "This is the moment when both sides need to determine how to move forward: whether they are going to work together or engage in a battle royale."
The triumphant lawmakers from the opposition are promising to use their power to make sweeping changes. One of the agendas of the opposition includes freeing opposition figures that they and many human rights groups consider political prisoners. The opposition also said that it will use more muscle in probing government corruption.
Meanwhile, President Maduro told the public on national television that he had instructed the military to guarantee the opposition access to the National Assembly so it can occupy peacefully. The next presidential election in Venezuela is due in April 2019.
