IFES Election Guide - Country Profile: Venezuela

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Legislative
September 26, 2010
Presidential
December 2012

Venezuela
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Region: Americas

Description of government structure:

Chief of State: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias *
Head of Government: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias
Assembly: Venezuela has a unicameral National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional) with 167 seats.

* The president is both the chief of state and head of government. In 2009, a national referendum approved the elimination of term limits on all elected officials, including the presidency.

Description of electoral system:

The President is elected by plurality vote to serve a 6-year term.
In the National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional), 65 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms, 68 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms, 31 members are elected by plurality vote in multi-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms and 3 members are reserved for indigenous peoples to serve 5-year terms.***

*** Parties may nominate candidates for both the nominal and ordinal tiers.