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href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Whats-Next-After-Venezuelas-Constituent-Assembly-Vote-20170727-0016.html">http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Whats-Next-After-Venezuelas-Constituent-Assembly-Vote-20170727-0016.html</a></font>
<h1 id="reader-title">What's Next After Venezuela's Constituent
Assembly Vote?<br>
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<div id="meta-data" class="meta-data">
<div id="reader-estimated-time">July 31, 2017<br>
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<p>After Sunday's vote for the <a
href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Over-8-Million-Vote-in-Venezuelas-National-Constituent-Assembly-Election-20170730-0040.html">National
Constituent Assembly,</a> Venezuela enters a new
legislative and election period.</p>
<p>Over eight million people voted in Venezuela's election
Sunday — a turnout of over 41 percent, according to
electoral authorities — to choose from 6,120 candidates
for the 545-member ANC.</p>
<p>Public servants, including governors, mayors, and
lawmakers, could not run as candidates unless they
resigned from their positions. Candidates did not
represent their political parties but competed on an
individual basis to become a delegate for the ANC.</p>
<p>"It is the only way to summon the full sovereignty of
the people and lay the foundations of the recovery of
peace in the Republic," President Nicolas Maduro said on
May 1.</p>
<p>"This is a Constituent Assembly to bring order, do
justice and defend the peace," Maduro said Monday.</p>
<hr>
<p><span><strong>After the vote</strong></span></p>
<p>Some 364 members will be chosen through a territorial
vote, one member for each of Venezuela's municipality,
two for each one that is a state capital, and seven for
Libertador municipality of central Caracas.</p>
<p>Eight will be elected from the vote being conducted by
Indigenous communities on Aug. 1, according to their
customs and traditions, while the remaining 173 will be
divided into different sectors.</p>
<p>Eight will be from campesinos and fishermen, five for
business people, five for those with a disability, 24
for students, 28 for pensioners, 24 for Communal
Councils, and 79 for workers in public administration,
services, social areas, commerce, self-employed,
industry, construction, transportation, and the oil
industry.</p>
<p>The National Electoral Council, with local and
international observers and auditors, will be in charge
of counting all the votes before announcing who will sit
on the ANC.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong><span>The Constituent Assembly's work</span></strong></p>
<p>By Aug. 3 the elected members of the ANC will be sworn
in as the new legislative body.</p>
<p>It will be installed within 72 hours after the
announcement of the elected constituents and will work
from the Federal Legislative Palace in Caracas,
according to the decree that convened it.</p>
<p>This group of various origins and interests will
discuss and drafts a new national constitution based on
the proposals by different sectors of society.</p>
<p>This will be the second Constituent Assembly to be
elected in Venezuela since 1999 when the current
constitutional text was drafted in another popular
participation vote.</p>
<p>In the current Bolivarian Constitution, there is no
defined timeline on how long it would take the members
of the newly elected body to complete the popular
mandate, but it would be a temporary parliament.</p>
<p>The constituents will have at least three months to
draft the new text and are expected to focus their work
on justice and economic issues.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong><span>Venezuelans must approve new constitution</span></strong></p>
<p>Article 349 of the country's constitution says no other
state power can "in any way impede the decisions of the
National Constituent Assembly" and that the President of
the Republic can not object to the new Constitution.</p>
<p>The final text of the new Constitution of the
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela will go to an open and
free referendum where all citizens will decide whether
to approve it.</p>
<p>Depending on what the constituents include in the final
text, the country could face general elections for
President of the Republic, mayors, governors and other
publicly elected officials.</p>
<p>The referendum is scheduled to be held on December 19,
while the elections for governors in the country is
scheduled for December 10.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong><span>Possible outcomes</span></strong></p>
<p>Popular sectors hope to win a majority in the assembly
along with the government in order to strengthen the
economic and judicial system and protect the social
missions initiated by the Bolivarian Revolution to
provide free or low-cost health care, education and
food.</p>
<p>According to the government, new forms of participatory
democracy will be developed, as well as support for
sovereignty, cultural programs, social rights and
environmental programs.</p>
<p>Some factions of the opposition have decided not to
participate in the democratic and open process, while
other sectors have said they will participate.</p>
<p>According to analysts, even if the opposition were to
win the majority in this assembly, they wouldn't be able
to change the fundamental constitutional model of the
country created in 1999.</p>
<p>They will still need to work on the basis of the
fundamental rights given to the people in the current
constitution.</p>
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<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
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