2005 Venezuelan parliamentary election

"In the lead-up to the December 2005 election, observers predicted that the opposition would struggle to win one-third of the seats in the Assembly and that the pro-Chávez parties would win a two-thirds majority control of the legislature."[2]

Just weeks before the elections, an audit was made in presence of the National Electoral Council (CNE), OAS international observers and several political parties. During the audit, the opposition started claiming that the electoral machines recorded the sequence of the votes, while fingerprint scanners recorded the information of each voter. However, though the fingerprint scanners were altogether not connected to and in different places than the voting machines, and the lines of voters at each of the machine groups were totally unrelated, the opposition put forward the case that it was possible to unscramble the information, stating that cross-matching the data between the two machines could potentially show the voting details of those who voted. The reconstruction of this data is considered possible by some characters, allegedly due to the requirement of access to the voting machines and knowledge of the password. As an extra measure of reassurance, the CNE agreed to format the data held on the voting machines as soon as these finished transmitting their precinct totals to the CNE. As long as every voting machine also printed its precinct totals, it was easy for all involved parties to check the validity of the data as reported in both instances, the printed precinct totals and the partial results reported in the CNE tallying center.[3][4][5]

Both the Organization of American States (OAS) and the European Union sent delegations to observe the elections.[2] On 28 November the National Electoral Council (CNE), in a decision brokered by the OAS, announced that it would not use the controversial machines. The CNE stood by its claim that the fingerprint scanners were not usable to identify the votes. The same devices had been used on the 2004 recall referendum, and the state governors' elections that same year.

Despite the CNE concession on the use of fingerprint scanners, five opposition parties withdrew from the elections. "The move surprised election officials, and some reports indicate that international observers were unhappy that the opposition had reneged on a commitment to participate in the elections if the digital fingerprint machines were not used."[2] "In particular, the EU stated the CNE’s decision to eliminate the digital fingerprint devices from the voting process was timely, effective, and constructive, and noted with surprise the opposition's withdrawal just four days before the election."[2] The OAS criticized the withdrawal, saying that democracy requires an opposition committed to the electoral process.[2]

By the Friday before the elections, five opposition political parties had withdrawn from the election: Democratic Action (Acción Democrática), COPEI (Social Christian Party of Venezuela), Project Venezuela (Proyecto Venezuela), Justice First (Primero Justicia),[6] and A New Era (Un Nuevo Tiempo). These political parties represented the majority of the opposition forces in the country. Vice President José Vicente Rangel declared that "they know that they are defeated because they too read the surveys and know that if they participate they will have a poor representation." He also stated that the U.S. Department of State, through their embassy in Caracas, was responsible for the withdrawals.[7] The New York Times noted that "The opposition decision appeared to be aimed at appealing to international support and discrediting Venezuela's government, which has strong approval ratings."[8] José Miguel Vivanco, the Americas director of Human Rights Watch, was quoted as saying "It's really hard to understand what exactly the political opposition leadership has in mind. But certainly it is not going to help them to present themselves as victims that deserve solidarity from the international community. With these kinds of tactics I don't think they'll gain any ground."[8]

The deadline for candidate withdrawal was Saturday, 3 December, at 4:00 pm. The CNE announced that not all of the boycotting political parties formally withdrew, meaning that only 10.08% of the candidates were officially out of the elections.[9] The withdrawals left most opposition parties outside the election. Movement Towards Socialism (Movimiento al Socialismo), Red Flag Party (Partido Bandera Roja) and Democratic Left (Izquierda Democrática) did, however, participate in the election, but won no seats.[7]