Venezuelan presidential election, 1968
Encyclopedia
General elections were held in Venezuela
on 1 December 1968. The presidential elections were won by Rafael Caldera
of Copei, who received 29.1% of the vote, 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.
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. 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.
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
on 1 December 1968. The presidential elections were won by Rafael Caldera
Rafael Caldera
Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez was president of Venezuela from 1969 to 1974 and again from 1994 to 1999.Caldera taught sociology and law at various universities before entering politics. He was a founding member of COPEI, Venezuela's Christian Democratic party...
of Copei, who received 29.1% of the vote, whilst Democratic Action
Democratic Action
Democratic Action is a centrist Venezuelan political party established in 1941. The party and its antecedents played an important role in the early years of Venezuelan democracy, and led the government during Venezuela's first democratic period...
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.
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 FigueroaLuis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa
Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa , was a Venezuelan politician. A founder of Democratic Action and Minister of Education in its first government , he was a leader of Democratic Action after the restoration of democracy in 1958...
won the 1967 AD primary election
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
, only to see his nomination overturned by the Rómulo Betancourt
Rómulo Betancourt
Rómulo Ernesto Betancourt Bello , known as "The Father of Venezuelan Democracy", was President of Venezuela from 1945 to 1948 and again from 1959 to 1964, as well as leader of Accion Democratica, Venezuela's dominant political party in the 20th century...
faction in favour of Gonzalo Barrios
Gonzalo Barrios
Gonzalo Barrios Bustillos , was a Venezuelan politician. Founding member of party Acción Democrática , and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the first AD government . Later Minister of Interior and Justice under Raúl Leoni ....
, as Prieto was considered to be too left-wing. Prieto Figueroa, at the time President of the Venezuelan Senate
Venezuelan Senate
The Venezuelan Senate was the upper house of Venezuela's legislative under its 1961 constitution. Under the 1999 constitution, the bicameral system was replaced by the unicameral National Assembly of Venezuela....
as well as President of AD, split from AD over the affair along with a substantial number of his supporters.
President
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rafael Caldera Rafael Caldera Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez was president of Venezuela from 1969 to 1974 and again from 1994 to 1999.Caldera taught sociology and law at various universities before entering politics. He was a founding member of COPEI, Venezuela's Christian Democratic party... |
Copei-MDI | 1,083,712 | 29.1 |
| Gonzalo Barrios Gonzalo Barrios Gonzalo Barrios Bustillos , was a Venezuelan politician. Founding member of party Acción Democrática , and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the first AD government . Later Minister of Interior and Justice under Raúl Leoni .... |
AD Democratic Action Democratic Action is a centrist Venezuelan political party established in 1941. The party and its antecedents played an important role in the early years of Venezuelan democracy, and led the government during Venezuela's first democratic period... -API-AIR-OPIR |
1,050,806 | 28.2 |
| Miguel Ángel Burelli Rivas Miguel Ángel Burelli Rivas Miguel Ángel Burelli Rivas , was a Venezuelan lawyer, diplomat and politician, presidential candidate in 1968, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, between 1994 until 1999.... |
URD Democratic Republican Union The Democratic Republican Union is a Venezuelan political party founded in 1945.When the party appeared on course to win the 1952 election for a constitutional assembly, dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez suspended the election... -FDP-FND-MENI |
551,266 | 18.9 |
| Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa , was a Venezuelan politician. A founder of Democratic Action and Minister of Education in its first government , he was a leader of Democratic Action after the restoration of democracy in 1958... |
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 Democratic Action Democratic Action is a centrist Venezuelan political party established in 1941. The party and its antecedents played an important role in the early years of Venezuelan democracy, and led the government during Venezuela's first democratic period... |
939,759 | 25.6 | 66 | 0 | 19 | |
| Copei | 883,814 | 24.0 | 59 | 16 | ||
| 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 Democratic Republican Union The Democratic Republican Union is a Venezuelan political party founded in 1945.When the party appeared on course to win the 1952 election for a constitutional assembly, dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez suspended the election... |
340,195 | 9.2 | 18 | |||
| 3 | ||||||
| Popular Democratic Front | 194,931 | 5.3 | 10 | |||
| 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 | |||
| 0 | 0 | |||||
| National Action Movement | 24,407 | 0.7 | 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 | ||||||