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Copei
Leader	Roberto Enriquez
Founded	January 13, 1946
Headquarters	Caracas, Venezuela
Youth wing	Juventud Demócrata Cristiana
Ideology	Christian democracy
National affiliation	Coalition for Democratic Unity
International affiliation	Centrist Democrat International
Official colors	green
Seats in the National Assembly	8 / 165
Website
http://www.copeivenezuela.com http://www.copei.net
Politics of Venezuela Political parties Elections

Copei is a Christian democratic party in Venezuela. The acronym stands for Comité de Organización Política Electoral Independiente ("Political Electoral Independent Organization Committee"). The party sometimes uses the appendices Partido Social Cristiano ("Social Christian Party") or Partido Popular ("Popular Party"). It was founded on January 13, 1946, by Rafael Caldera, who later served as president under the party's banner.^[1] Copei, along with Democratic Action, was the dominant Venezuelan party from 1958 to 1998. The only other Copei member to become president of Venezuela was Luis Herrera Campins, between 1979 and 1983. The party's leaders were Lorenzo Fernández, Eduardo Fernández and Oswaldo Álvarez Paz.

In the 2000 legislative elections the party won 5 of 165 seats in the National Assembly; 4 additional seats were won by an alliance with Democratic Action. In the 2005 legislative elections Copei staged an electoral boycott and so did not win any seats in the National Assembly. In the 2010 parliamentary election, Copei was part of the broad oppositional Coalition for Democratic Unity and won 8 of the 165 seats. Copei provides the governor of one of Venezuela's 23 states: César Pérez Vivas, who has been governor of Táchira since 2009.^[2]

Venezuelan Presidents by COPEI[link]

References[link]

1. ^ Crisp, Brian F.; Levine, Daniel H.; Molina, Jose E. (2003), "The Rise and Decline of COPEI in Venezuela", Christian Democracy in Latin America: Electoral Competition and Regime Conflicts (Stanford University Press): p. 275, http://books.google.fr/books?id=Ppe20kevrzgC&pg=PA275&dq=Brian+F.+Crisp,+Daniel+H.+Levine+Jose+E.+Molina+The+Rise+and+Decline+of+COPEI+in+Venezuela&hl=de&sa=X&ei=2wBBT5yIJsOEhQf9vpXiBQ&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Brian%20F.%20Crisp%2C%20Daniel%20H.%20Levine%20Jose%20E.%20Molina%20The%20Rise%20and%20Decline%20of%20COPEI%20in%20Venezuela&f=false 
2. ^ Pérez Vivas es el nuevo Gobernador del Táchira, La Nación (San Cristóbal) (Spanish)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Copei

• Official web site

v t e Political parties in Venezuela Political parties represented in the National Assembly of Venezuela (165 seats) United Socialist Party of Venezuela (97) · Democratic Action (19) · A New Era (14) · COPEI (8) · Justice First (6) · For Social Democracy (4) · Project Venezuela (3) · Radical Cause (3) · Communist Party of Venezuela (3) · Fatherland for All (2) · Popular Will (2) · Movement for Socialism (1) · Fearless People's Alliance (1) · Clear Accounts (1) · Emergent People (1) · National Convergence (1) · Justice, Fairness and Loyalty (1) Indigenous people parties in the National Assembly of Venezuela (3 seats elected separately) National Council of Venezuelan Indians (1) · Foundation for Integration and Dignification (1) · Autonomous Movement of Zulia (1) Political parties not represented in the National Assembly of Venezuela Democratic Republican Union · Red Flag Party · Ecological Movement of Venezuela Portal:Politics · List of political parties · Politics of Venezuela

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