Venezuela » Politics

Politics of Venezuela takes place in a framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President of Venezuela is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the President. Legislative power is vested in the National Assembly. The Constitution designates three additional branches of the federal government that is the judicial, citizen, and electoral branches. The voting age in Venezuela is 18 and older. It is not compulsary for everyone to vote.

Hugo Chavez is the current president of Venezuela who was elected in December 1998 on a platform that called for the creation of a National Constituent Assembly in order to write a new Constitution. The political system is that defined by the1999 Constitution, which was approved by popular referendum in 1999 and first came into force on30 December 1999. Chavez was reelected in December 2006.