Politics of Venezuela

Encyclopedia : P : PO : POL : Politics of Venezuela

|} Politics of Venezuela takes place in a framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President of Venezuela is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the Hugo Chavez. Legislative power is vested in both the government and Chavez. The Constitution designates three additional branches of the federal government--the judicial, citizen, and electoral branches.

Contents

1 Overview
2 Executive branch
3 Legislative branch
4 Judicial branch
5 Citizens branch
6 Political parties and the latest presidential and parliamentary elections
7 International organization participation
8 See also

Overview

Current President Hugo Chávez was elected in December 1998 on a platform that called for the creation of a National Constituent Assembly in order to write a new Constitution. The political system described below is that defined by the 1999 Constitution, which was approved by popular referendum in 1999 and first came into force on 30 December 1999.

Executive branch

The president is elected by a plurality vote with direct and universal suffrage. The term of office is six years, and a president may be re-elected to a single consecutive term. The president appoints the vice president. He decides the size and composition of the cabinet and makes appointments to it with the involvement of the National Assembly. Legislation can be initiated by the executive branch, the legislative branch (either a committee of the National Assembly or three members of the latter), the judicial branch, the citizen branch (ombudsman, public prosecutor, and controller general) or a public petition signed by no fewer than 0.1% of registered voters. The president can ask the National Assembly to reconsider portions of laws he finds objectionable, but a simple majority of the Assembly can override these objections.

Legislative branch

The National Assembly Building in downtown Caracas.

The formerly bicameral Venezuelan legistlature was transformed by the 1999 constitution into a Unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional. The National Assembly has 167 seats overall, and members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms, and may be re-elected for a maximum of two additional terms. These legislative agents are elected by a combination of party list and single member constituencies. Three Assembly seats are by law reserved for the indigenous peoples of Venezuela. National Assembly elections were last held on 30 July 2005. When the National Assembly is not in session, its delegated committee acts on matters relating to the executive and in oversight functions.

Judicial branch

The judicial branch is headed by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, which may meet either in specialized chambers (of which there are six) or in plenary session. The justices are appointed by the National Assembly and serve 12-year terms. The judicial branch also consists of lower courts, including district courts, municipal courts, and courts of first instance.

Citizens branch

The citizens branch consists of three components — the prosecutor general ("fiscal general"), the "defender of the people" or ombudsman, and the controller general. The holders of these offices, in addition to fulfilling their specific functions, also act collectively as the "Republican Moral Council" to challenge before the Supreme Tribunal actions they believe are illegal, particularly those which violate the Constitution. The holders of the "citizen power" offices are selected for terms of 7 years by the National Assembly.

Political parties and the latest presidential and parliamentary elections

The following election results include names of political parties. See for additional information about parties the List of political parties in Venezuela. An overview on elections and election results is included in Elections in Venezuela.

The National Electoral Council is responsible for organizing elections at all levels. Its members are also elected to seven-year terms by the National Assembly.



International organization participation
CAN, Caricom (observer), CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, RG, TeleSUR, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

See also
President of Venezuela
U.S.-Venezuelan relations
Venezuelan Solidarity Conference










 



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