CARACAS, Venezuela- Eight hours after the polls closed, the national electoral board overseeing Sunday’s congressional elections announced that Hugo Chavez’s Socialist Party of Venezuela, or the PSUV,  had held on to their majority in the Venezuelan Congress, called La Asamblea Nacional. Many races needed the extra time because they were too close to call, the head of the board said on national TV early Monday morning.

Chavez’s PSUV candidates won at at least 90 seats out of the 165 seats, while the anti-Chavez opposition coalition, MUD, won at least 60 congressional seats, which breaks the socialists super majority in the legislative body . Despite remaining in the minority, opposition leaders on Monday called it a significant political advancement that could open the door for future gains against Chavez and his party, including the 2012 Venezuelan presidential election.

At a press conference immediately following the results, the opposition said that they had won the majority of the popular vote Sunday with 52%, but did not win the majority of seats because of obstacles implemented by the Chavez government before the election, including gerrymandered districts, and changing the law to disproportionately count rural votes over others. Chavez remains popular in rural areas of Venezuela, while the opposition’s electoral strength mainly lies in the larger cities of the South American country.

Opposition political parties boycotted the 2005 congressional election after they criticized what they described as unconstitutional interference by the Chavez government. In the 5 years since, the opposition watched helplessly as the Chavista congress dramatically changed national laws, appointed Supreme Court justices, and electoral board members with ease.

67 % of the nearly 18 million registered voters took part in Sunday’s elections, according to the Venezuelan electoral board, CNE.