2012 Venezuelan regional elections

Regional elections were held in Venezuela on 16 December 2012 to elect state governors and state legislators.^[1] The result was a victory for the ruling United Socialist Party, which won the governorships of 20 of the 23 states,^[2] an increase from the 18 won in the 2008 elections.^[3] Voter turnout was 53%.^[3]

Gubernatorial elections

Amazonas


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Liborio Guarulla	Progresist Movement of Venezuela	35,328	55.03
	Nicia Maldonado	United Socialist Party of Venezuela	24,876	38.75
	Gregorio Mirabal	United Multiethnic Peoples of the Amazonas	3,523	5.49
	Magno Barros	Democratic Action	242	0.38
	Plinio Graterol	Authentic Renewal Organization	153	0.24
	Antonio Corapse	New Vision for My Country	77	0.12
Total			64,199	100.00

Valid votes			64,199	96.76
Invalid/blank votes			2,149	3.24
Total votes			66,348	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			97,560	68.01
Source: CNE

Anzoátegui


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Aristóbulo Istúriz	United Socialist Party of Venezuela	292,753	56.46
	Antonio Barreto Sira	Democratic Action	222,280	42.87
	Manuel Lozada	New Pact	1,975	0.38
	Juan Carlo Mata	New Vision for My Country	535	0.10
	Ubaldo Alvarado	People's Electoral Movement	500	0.10
	Elieser Teran	Socialism and Liberty Party	284	0.05
	Edwin Figuera	Labour Power	197	0.04
Total			518,524	100.00

Valid votes			518,524	96.26
Invalid/blank votes			20,163	3.74
Total votes			538,687	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			1,013,188	53.17
Source: CNE

Apure


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Ramón Carrizales	United Socialist Party of Venezuela	94,112	63.31
	Luis Lippa	Citizen Force	32,991	22.19
	Leopoldo Estrada	People's Electoral Movement	21,220	14.27
	José Sosa	New Vision for My Country	332	0.22
Total			148,655	100.00

Valid votes			148,655	96.15
Invalid/blank votes			5,958	3.85
Total votes			154,613	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			313,874	49.26
Source: CNE

Aragua


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Tareck El Aissami	United Socialist Party of Venezuela	341,316	55.57
	Richard Mardo	Justice First	271,367	44.18
	Aris Segovia	New Vision for My Country	945	0.15
	Ruth Rodríguez	Authentic Renewal Organization	502	0.08
	Emilio Bastidas	Socialism and Liberty Party	113	0.02
Total			614,243	100.00

Valid votes			614,243	95.70
Invalid/blank votes			27,628	4.30
Total votes			641,871	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			1,173,046	54.72
Source: CNE

Barinas


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Adán Chávez	United Socialist Party of Venezuela	143,198	57.90
	Julio César Reyes	Progressive Advance	104,046	42.07
	Marco Tezara	New Vision for My Country	76	0.03
Total			247,320	100.00

Valid votes			247,320	96.41
Invalid/blank votes			9,207	3.59
Total votes			256,527	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			531,227	48.29
Source: CNE

Bolívar


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Francisco Rangel Gómez	United Socialist Party of Venezuela	173,536	46.55
	Andrés Velásquez	Radical Cause	163,265	43.80
	Manuel Arciniega	Communist Party of Venezuela	30,045	8.06
	Robert Martínez	New Vision for My Country	2,045	0.55
	Amauris Aular	Emerging People	1,332	0.36
	Pedro Rondón	Think Democracy	890	0.24
	María Quintina	Venezuelan Revolutionary Currents	626	0.17
	José Contreras	Authentic Renewal Organization	406	0.11
	Edwin Zambrano	Revolutionary Party of Work	387	0.10
	Pedro Tabarés	Free Voters	223	0.06
Total			372,755	100.00

Valid votes			372,755	95.34
Invalid/blank votes			18,225	4.66
Total votes			390,980	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			950,034	41.15
Source: CNE

Carabobo


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Francisco Ameliach	United Socialist Party of Venezuela	408,439	55.74
	Henrique Salas Feo	Project Venezuela	319,619	43.62
	Noe Mujica	NOE Unity	1,556	0.21
	Laura Valls	Free Voters	1,052	0.14
	Raúl Coraspe	New Vision for My Country	731	0.10
	Juan Linares	Organised Youth of Venezuela	581	0.08
	María Mirabal	Labour Power	327	0.04
	Antonio Espinoza	Socialism and Liberty Party	276	0.04
	Juan Peña Loyo	Republican Bicentennial Vanguard	212	0.03
Total			732,793	100.00

Valid votes			732,793	96.84
Invalid/blank votes			23,934	3.16
Total votes			756,727	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			1,533,809	49.34
Source: CNE

Cojedes


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Erika Farías	United Socialist Party of Venezuela	75,383	63.43
	Alberto Galíndez	Democratic Action	42,820	36.03
	José Rodríguez	New Vision for My Country	216	0.18
	José Castro	Ecological Movement of Venezuela	154	0.13
	Pedro León	Cojedian Socialist Party	136	0.11
	Antonio Matute	New Social Order	77	0.06
	Wilfredo Lago	Labour Power	55	0.05
Total			118,841	100.00

Valid votes			118,841	95.18
Invalid/blank votes			6,012	4.82
Total votes			124,853	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			225,036	55.48
Source: CNE

Delta Amacuro


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Lizeta Hernández	United Socialist Party of Venezuela	42,037	82.09
	Arévalo Salazar	Movement for Socialism	8,213	16.04
	Migdaesi Pinto	New Vision for My Country	933	1.82
	Ricardo Koesling	New Social Order	28	0.05
Total			51,211	100.00

Valid votes			51,211	95.98
Invalid/blank votes			2,143	4.02
Total votes			53,354	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			114,043	46.78
Source: CNE

Falcón


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Stella Lugo	United Socialist Party of Venezuela	157,640	51.59
	Gregorio Graterol	Independent (MUD)	109,779	35.93
	Oswaldo León	Independent	36,287	11.88
	Raumel Guerrero	Community Defence Movement	1,104	0.36
	Magalis Covis	Republican Bicentennial Vanguard	583	0.19
	Elsa Colina	New Vision for My Country	173	0.06
Total			305,566	100.00

Valid votes			305,566	96.05
Invalid/blank votes			12,563	3.95
Total votes			318,129	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			638,516	49.82
Source: CNE

Guárico


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Ramón Rodríguez Chacín	United Socialist Party of Venezuela	148,445	74.71
	José Manuel González	Democratic Action	50,163	25.25
	Juan Carlos Rodríguez	New Vision for My Country	87	0.04
Total			198,695	100.00

Valid votes			198,695	96.06
Invalid/blank votes			8,139	3.94
Total votes			206,834	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			503,312	41.09
Source: CNE

Lara


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Henri Falcón	Progressive Advance	352,478	53.88
	Luis Reyes Reyes	United Socialist Party of Venezuela	300,074	45.87
	Julio La Cruz	Think Democracy	971	0.15
	Cesar Guerrero	Ecological Movement of Venezuela	691	0.11
Total			654,214	100.00

Valid votes			654,214	96.65
Invalid/blank votes			22,670	3.35
Total votes			676,884	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			1,203,490	56.24
Source: CNE

Mérida


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Alexis Ramírez	United Socialist Party of Venezuela	150,493	50.24
	Léster Rodríguez	Copei	116,197	38.79
	Florencio Porras	Communist Party of Venezuela	31,765	10.60
	Daniel García	Independent Merideños Progressives	467	0.16
	Gerardo Pacheco	Ecological Movement of Venezuela	293	0.10
	Simón Rodríguez	Socialism and Liberty Party	248	0.08
	Rafael Farias	New Vision for My Country	86	0.03
Total			299,549	100.00

Valid votes			299,549	96.56
Invalid/blank votes			10,664	3.44
Total votes			310,213	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			584,457	53.08
Source: CNE

Miranda


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Henrique Capriles	Justice First	583,660	51.83
	Elías Jaua	United Socialist Party of Venezuela	538,549	47.83
	Claudio Ojeda	New Vision for My Country	3,561	0.32
	Jorge Contreras	National Opinion	297	0.03
Total			1,126,067	100.00

Valid votes			1,126,067	96.83
Invalid/blank votes			36,888	3.17
Total votes			1,162,955	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			1,993,236	58.35
Source: CNE

Monagas


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Yelitze Santaella	United Socialist Party of Venezuela	168,532	55.11
	José Gregorio Briceño	Independent	129,225	42.26
	Soraya Hernández	Independent (MUD)	7,416	2.43
	Judith Márquez	New Vision for My Country	432	0.14
	Humberto Canales	National Opinion	95	0.03
	Francisco Arias	Republican Bicentennial Vanguard	88	0.03
Total			305,788	100.00

Valid votes			305,788	96.46
Invalid/blank votes			11,212	3.54
Total votes			317,000	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			599,082	52.91
Source: CNE

Nueva Esparta


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Carlos Mata Figueroa	United Socialist Party of Venezuela	110,982	54.06
	Morel Rodríguez Ávila	Democratic Action	93,868	45.72
	Luis López Marcano	Ecological Movement of Venezuela	302	0.15
	Frank Pinto	New Vision for My Country	139	0.07
Total			205,291	100.00

Valid votes			205,291	97.01
Invalid/blank votes			6,333	2.99
Total votes			211,624	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			334,218	63.32
Source: CNE

Portuguesa


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Wilmar Castro Soteldo	United Socialist Party of Venezuela	131,367	53.76
	Oswaldo Zerpa	Communist Party of Venezuela	60,809	24.89
	Iván Colmenares	Independent (MUD)	51,081	20.90
	Rafael Blanco	New Vision for My Country	602	0.25
	Jesús Gonzáles	Revolutionary Party of Work	267	0.11
	Akram El Nimer	Ecological Movement of Venezuela	227	0.09
Total			244,353	100.00

Valid votes			244,353	95.19
Invalid/blank votes			12,339	4.81
Total votes			256,692	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			583,710	43.98
Source: CNE

Sucre


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Luis Acuña	United Socialist Party of Venezuela	157,344	59.81
	Hernán Núñez	Popular Will	93,869	35.68
	Félix Rodríguez	Labour Power	8,892	3.38
	Elías Ocque	Good Land	2,860	1.09
	Eleazar Guillen	Socialism and Liberty Party	117	0.04
Total			263,082	100.00

Valid votes			263,082	95.73
Invalid/blank votes			11,731	4.27
Total votes			274,813	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			630,820	43.56
Source: CNE

Táchira


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	José G. Vielma Mora	United Socialist Party of Venezuela	248,788	54.00
	César Pérez Vivas	Copei	209,568	45.49
	William Méndez	National Opinion	1,700	0.37
	Manuel Rugeles	Orientation Party of Táchira State	321	0.07
	Rafael Escobar	New Vision for My Country	302	0.07
Total			460,679	100.00

Valid votes			460,679	96.77
Invalid/blank votes			15,380	3.23
Total votes			476,059	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			826,821	57.58
Source: CNE

Trujillo


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Henry Rangel Silva	United Socialist Party of Venezuela	183,453	82.30
	José Hernández	Democratic Action	38,511	17.28
	Oscar Hernández	New Vision for My Country	941	0.42
Total			222,905	100.00

Valid votes			222,905	97.20
Invalid/blank votes			6,414	2.80
Total votes			229,319	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			506,233	45.30
Source: CNE

Vargas


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Jorge García Carneiro	United Socialist Party of Venezuela	77,476	73.45
	José Manuel Olivares	A New Era	26,518	25.14
	Cristian González	United Vargas	1,275	1.21
	Pedro Grateron	New Vision for My Country	145	0.14
	César Gutierrez	Labour Power	71	0.07
Total			105,485	100.00

Valid votes			105,485	94.51
Invalid/blank votes			6,126	5.49
Total votes			111,611	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			268,605	41.55
Source: CNE

Yaracuy


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Julio León Heredia	United Socialist Party of Venezuela	127,333	61.48
	Biaggio Pilieri	Convergence	78,217	37.77
	Richard José Lira	Authentic Renewal Organization	654	0.32
	José Luis Portillo	New Vision for My Country	601	0.29
	Ender Guedez	Socialist Renewal Movement	307	0.15
Total			207,112	100.00

Valid votes			207,112	95.12
Invalid/blank votes			10,633	4.88
Total votes			217,745	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			408,208	53.34
Source: CNE

Zulia


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Francisco Arias Cárdenas	United Socialist Party of Venezuela	759,214	52.23
	Pablo Pérez Álvarez	A New Era	693,225	47.69
	Iris Rincón	New Vision for My Country	657	0.05
	María Bolívar	United Democratic Party for Peace	620	0.04
Total			1,453,716	100.00

Valid votes			1,453,716	97.83
Invalid/blank votes			32,296	2.17
Total votes			1,486,012	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			2,389,371	62.19
Source: CNE

References

^ Definidas las fechas de elecciones para Gobernadores y Alcaldes Archived 2016-02-21 at the Wayback Machine Noticias24, 20 September 2011 (in Spanish)
^ PSUV gana 19 gobernaciones Archived 2012-12-19 at the Wayback Machine Globovision, 16 December 2012 (in Spanish)
^ ^a ^b Hugo Chavez allies win 20 of 23 Venezuela governorships BBC News, 17 December 2012

[Noticias24-1] Definidas las fechas de elecciones para Gobernadores y Alcaldes Archived 2016-02-21 at the Wayback Machine Noticias24, 20 September 2011 (in Spanish)

[Globovision-2] PSUV gana 19 gobernaciones Archived 2012-12-19 at the Wayback Machine Globovision, 16 December 2012 (in Spanish)

[BBC-3] Hugo Chavez allies win 20 of 23 Venezuela governorships BBC News, 17 December 2012

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