Editing Elections in Venezuela (section)

==Presidential elections==
{{See also|Category:Presidential elections in Venezuela}}
There are regular presidential elections in Venezuela. The [[President of Venezuela]] is elected for a six-year term by [[direct election]] [[plurality voting system|plurality voting]], and is eligible for unlimited re-election.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}} One of the first "honest" presidential elections in Venezuela [[1947 Venezuelan general election|was held in 1947]], with [[Rómulo Gallegos]] of [[Democratic Action (Venezuela)|Democratic Action]] receiving 74.3% of the vote.<ref name="N1"/> The next elections were [[1958 Venezuelan general election|held in 1958]] and won by [[Rómulo Betancourt]] of Democratic Action, who received 49.2% of the vote.<ref name=N1/> With voter turnout reported to be 92.3%, in the [[1963 Venezuelan general election|1963 presidential elections]] [[Raúl Leoni]] of Democratic Action won with 32.8% of the vote.<ref name=N1/> In the [[1968 Venezuelan general election|subsequent 1968 elections]], [[Rafael Caldera]] of [[Copei – Social Christian Party of Venezuela|Copei]] (the Social Christian Party of Venezuela) won with 29.1% of the vote,<ref>Nohlen, p580</ref> although Democratic Action remained the largest party in the Chamber of Deputies and Senate.<ref name="Nohlen, p556">Nohlen, p556</ref> The [[1973 Venezuelan general election|following elections]] the presidential seat returned to Democratic Action, with [[Carlos Andrés Pérez]] receiving 48.7% of the vote<ref name="Nohlen, p581">Nohlen, p581</ref> in a voter turnout of 96.5%.<ref name="Nohlen, p556"/>

The [[1978 Venezuelan general election|1978 elections]] were won by [[Luis Herrera Campins]] of Copei with 46.6% of the vote.<ref name="Nohlen, p581"/> [[Jaime Lusinchi]] of Democratic Action won with 58.4% of the vote [[1983 Venezuelan general election|in 1983]],<ref name="Nohlen, p582">Nohlen, p582</ref> with voter turnout at 87.3%.<ref name="Nohlen, p556"/> Carlos Andrés Pérez [[1988 Venezuelan general election|won a second time in 1988]] with 52.9% of the vote,<ref name="Nohlen, p582"/> and a voter turnout of 81.9% in the presidential election.<ref name="Nohlen, p556"/> Former president Rafael Caldera, newly associated with [[National Convergence]], won with 30.5% of the vote [[1993 Venezuelan general election|in 1993]].<ref name="Nohlen, p582"/> The voter turnout in 1993 was 60.2%, the lowest since [[World War II]].<ref name="Nohlen, p556"/> After being imprisoned for an attempted coup and then pardoned by Caldera, [[Hugo Chávez]] founded the [[Fifth Republic Movement]] and was [[1998 Venezuelan presidential election|elected president of Venezuela in 1998]]. He was [[2000 Venezuelan general election|re-elected in 2000]].<ref name="Reuters"/>

[[2004 Venezuelan recall referendum|A recall referendum in 2004]] was voted on by the populace to determine whether Chávez should be [[Recall election|recalled]] from office, resulting in no recall (58% no).<ref name=CEPRBlackSwan/> The authenticity of the results became a point of contention.<ref name=CEPRBlackSwan>Weisbrot M, Rosnick D, Tucker T (20 September 2004). [http://www.cepr.net/index.php/publications/reports/black-swans-conspiracy-theories-and-the-quixotic-search-for-fraud/ Black Swans, Conspiracy Theories, and the Quixotic Search for Fraud: A Look at Hausmann and Rigobón's Analysis of Venezuela's Referendum Vote] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140724001829/http://www.cepr.net/index.php/publications/reports/black-swans-conspiracy-theories-and-the-quixotic-search-for-fraud/ |date=2014-07-24 }}. ''CEPR: Center for Economic and Policy Research''. Retrieved 7 July 2012.</ref><ref>Maria M. Febres Cordero, Bernardo Márquez (2006), [http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1751-5823.2006.tb00301.x/abstract "A Statistical Approach to Assess Referendum Results: the Venezuelan Recall Referendum 2004"], ''International Statistical Review'', 74(3)</ref><ref name=specialsection>[http://projecteuclid.org/DPubS?service=UI&version=1.0&verb=Display&page=toc&handle=euclid.ss/1330437927 Special Section: Revisiting the 2004 Venezuelan Referendum] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728043017/http://projecteuclid.org/DPubS?service=UI&version=1.0&verb=Display&page=toc&handle=euclid.ss%2F1330437927 |date=2012-07-28 }}, ''Statistical Science'', 26(4), November 2011</ref><ref name="carter_accept">{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americas/08/16/venezuela.recall.ap/index.html|title=Observers endorse Venezuela vote results|work=CNN |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040905004646/http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americas/08/16/venezuela.recall.ap/index.html |archive-date=5 September 2004 }}</ref><ref name="observers">{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna5710814|title=Observer teams endorse Venezuela vote results|website=[[NBC News]] |date=16 August 2004|access-date=6 July 2013}}</ref><ref name="carter_accuse_opposition">{{cite web|url=http://natcath.org/NCR_Online/archives2/2004c/090304/090304a.php|title=Venezuela: Divisions harden after Chávez victory|last=Jones|first=Bart|date=3 September 2004|work=[[National Catholic Reporter]]|access-date=14 March 2009}}</ref>

Chavez was reelected [[2006 Venezuelan presidential election|in 2006]] with over 60% of the votes,<ref name="Reuters"/> and [[2009 Venezuelan constitutional referendum|in 2009 a constitutional referendum]] resulted in the abolishment of [[term limit]]s for the offices of President of Venezuela. Since 1999 there had been a two-term limit.<ref name="BBC 16/2"/>
Chavez was reelected for a third term in the [[2012 Venezuelan presidential election|October 2012 presidential election]].<ref name="Reuters">{{cite news|title=Venezuela's Chávez re-elected to extend socialist rule|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/venezuela-election-idUSL1E8L70WK20121008|publisher=Reuters|access-date=8 October 2012|date=8 October 2012|first=Andrew|last=Cawthorne}}
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Nicolas Maduro won the [[2013 Venezuelan presidential election|2013 presidential election]] and was [[2018 Venezuelan presidential election|reelected in 2018]].