Venezuelan general election, 1968
General elections were held in Venezuela on 1 December 1968.[1] The presidential elections were won by Rafael Caldera of Copei, who received 29.1% of the vote,[2] whilst Democratic Action remained the largest party in the Chamber of Deputies and Senate. Voter turnout was 96.7% in the presidential election and 94.5% in the Congressional elections.[3]
Background
The election was shaped by the split of the Acción Democrática (AD), with a substantial faction breaking away to form the People's Electoral Movement (MEP). The split happened after Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa won the 1967 AD primary election, only to see his nomination overturned by the Rómulo Betancourt faction in favour of Gonzalo Barrios, as Prieto was considered to be too left-wing.[4] Prieto Figueroa, at the time President of the Venezuelan Senate as well as President of AD, split from AD over the affair along with a substantial number of his supporters.[4]
Results
President
| Candidate |
Party |
Votes |
% |
| Rafael Caldera |
Copei-MDI |
1,083,712 |
29.1 |
| Gonzalo Barrios |
AD-API-AIR-OPIR |
1,050,806 |
28.2 |
| Miguel Ángel Burelli Rivas |
URD-FDP-FND-MENI |
551,266 |
18.9 |
| Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa |
MEP-PRIN-OPINA |
719,461 |
19.3 |
| Alejandro Hernández |
PSO |
27,336 |
0.7 |
| Germán Borreglas |
National Action Movement |
12,587 |
0.3 |
| Invalid/blank votes |
278,957 |
– |
| Total |
3,999,617 |
100 |
| Source: Nohlen |
Congress
| Party |
Votes |
% |
Seats |
| Chamber |
+/- |
Senate |
+/- |
| Democratic Action |
939,759 |
25.6 |
66 |
0 |
19 |
-3 |
| Copei |
883,814 |
24.0 |
59 |
+20 |
16 |
+8 |
| People's Electoral Movement |
475,909 |
12.9 |
25 |
New |
5 |
New |
| Nationalist Civic Crusade |
402,351 |
10.9 |
21 |
New |
4 |
New |
| Democratic Republican Union |
340,195 |
9.2 |
18 |
-11 |
3 |
-4 |
| Popular Democratic Front |
194,931 |
5.3 |
10 |
-6 |
2 |
-2 |
| Union for Progress |
103,591 |
2.8 |
5 |
New |
1 |
New |
| Democratic National Front |
96,027 |
2.6 |
4 |
New |
1 |
New |
| Revolutionary Party Nationalist Integration |
88,509 |
2.4 |
4 |
New |
1 |
New |
| Socialist Party of Venezuela |
29,920 |
0.8 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Independent Democratic Movement |
18,337 |
0.5 |
0 |
New |
0 |
New |
| Independent Popular Alliance |
18,332 |
0.5 |
0 |
New |
0 |
New |
| Independent National Electoral Movement |
13,847 |
0.4 |
0 |
-1 |
0 |
0 |
| National Action Movement |
24,407 |
0.7 |
1 |
+1 |
0 |
0 |
| Revolutionary Independent Action |
9,154 |
0.3 |
0 |
New |
0 |
New |
| National Opinion |
7,339 |
0.2 |
0 |
New |
0 |
New |
| 18 other parties |
31,662 |
0.9 |
0 |
– |
0 |
– |
| Invalid/blank votes |
229,739 |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
| Total |
3,907,823 |
100 |
214 |
+35 |
52 |
+5 |
| Source: Nohlen |
References
- ^ Nohlen, D (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II, p555 ISBN 9780199283583
- ^ Nohlen, p580
- ^ Nohlen, p556
- ^ a b Swanson, DL & Mancini, P (1996), Politics, media, and modern democracy: an international study of innovations in electoral campaigning and their consequences, Greenwood Publishing Group, p244