Caracas, Venezuela
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez took complete control of the 167-member National Assembly this week. Opposition parties all boycotted the elections, saying the voting would be rigged. Chavez’s Fifth Republic Movement party won 114 seats, with allies from other parties taking the rest. A two-thirds majority is enough to amend the constitution, and some lawmakers say they will extend term limits to allow Chavez to stay in office. “The whole world knows a true democracy is in motion here in Venezuela,” Chavez said. Leaders of a U.S.-backed vote watchdog organization, Sumate, called the election “illegitimate.”
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