Venezuela: The Sunday polls did not turn out to be the referendum on Maduro

The Sunday polls did not turn out to be the referendum on Maduro -- heir to leftist icon Hugo Chavez -- that the center-left opposition had hoped for. Nevertheless opposition candidates made major inroads by winning in Venezuela's five most populous cities, inclunding Caracas, the oil city of Maracaibo, and -- in a highly symbolic victory -- Barinas, Chavez's birthplace.

Maduro, 51, was narrowly elected to office in April, one month next his popular predecessor died of cancer. His tenure has been marked by high inflation, a soaring crime rate, and a shortage of household items like toilet paper and milk.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro declared victory in municipal elections as his ruling Socialists won a majority of votes nationwide on Sunday, even though they lost to the opposition in five key cities. He as well pledged to deepen his “economic offensive” to force businesses to cut prices, which was a turning point in his campaign.

Maduro's Socialists won nearly 50% of the in general vote against 43% for the opposition, said National Electoral Council (CNE) president Tibisay Lucerna, with nearly all of the polling stations reporting.

Voting took place in relative calm, with only minor disruptions and isolated acts of violence. Turnout of 58% was heavy for local elections but trailed the 80% that cast ballots in April’s presidential election, reflecting fatigue that has set in across Venezuela’s political spectrum the completed few months.

”The Venezuelan people have told the world that (Chavez's) Bolivarian Revolution continues with even additional force,“ Maduro said at an outdoors post-vote rally in Caracas. He described the vote as a triumph ”of love and loyalty“ towards Chavez.

Maduro again called on opposition leader Henrique Capriles to show ”humility,“ to ”recognize that he has been defeated again“ and resign.

The Socialists won office in 196 municipalities and the opposition in 53 plus independents taking eight, according to the CNE. Some results remain undeclared.

The results send a ”very clear message,“ said Capriles at a press conference. ”Venezuela is a divided country, it has no owner. We are building an alternative and will not rest until Venezuela is united.“

Capriles alleged that the vote was marred by scores of problems at polling stations, inclunding broken machines.

The approval ratings for Maduro -- a former bus driver, leftist stalwart and cabinet minister -- were plunging at the same time as, in November, the National Assembly granted him power to policy by decree for one year to fight corruption and respond to what he has called an ”economic war“ unleashed by the opposition with US support.

He quickly rolled out a series of measures to force price cuts, notably on household appliances and cars, and threatened speculators with prison.

Pre-election surveys showed that Venezuela's middle class welcomed this populist show of force from the self-styled ”avenging president.“

At a time at the same time as Venezuela has been experiencing months of record 54% inflation and facing shortages of basic household goods, ”a crazy paradox occurs: the one who is benefiting from the crisis is Maduro,“ pollster Luis Vicente Leon.

For political scientist John Magdaleno, Sunday's vote shows ”significant advances“ by the opposition by winning the mayor's office in three large cities that before had pro-government mayors.

Their vote numbers as well increased compared with the 2008 local elections, Magdaleno said, but were less at the same time as compared with the controversial April presidential election, which Maduro won over Capriles by a wafer-thin margin of 1.5 % points.

While Maduro has no room for mistakes, the opposition's challenge is to remain united and have a strong showing in the 2015 mid-term elections, said Magdaleno, chief of the Polity consulting firm.

While the opposition shows ”significant increase,“ it has been unable to ”punish” Maduro at the ballot box, added Luis Vicente Leon, chief of the Datanalis consultancy.