VENEZUELA’S opposition won control of the National Assembly by a landslide, delivering a major setback to the ruling party and altering the balance of power after almost 17 years of socialist rule.

    The opposition coalition won at least 99 seats in the incoming 167-seat legislature, electoral authorities announced after midnight Sunday. The ruling socialist party won just 46 seats. The 19 remaining races remain up for grabs but if enough are won by the opposition it could give the coalition a two-thirds super majority needed to strongly challenge President Nicolas Maduro’s grip on power.

    The streets of the Venezuelan capital of Caracas broke out in shouts of joy, fireworks and car honks after National Electoral Council President Tibisay Lucena announced the partial results six hours after polls closed.

    Within seconds, Maduro took to the airwaves to recognize the opposition’s win, saying that despite an adverse result, Venezuela’s democracy and constitution had triumphed. But he recalled the long history of coups in Latin America in blaming opponents trying to sabotage the oil-dependent economy and destabilize his rule for what he called a “circumstantial” loss.

    “I can say today that the economic war has triumphed,” Maduro said in a televised address.

    The opposition victory dealt a serious blow to the socialist revolution started almost 17 years ago by the late Hugo Chavez, who until his death in 2013 had an almost-magical hold on the political aspirations of Venezuela’s long-excluded masses.(SD-Agencies)