Chavez Wins Referendum
imc activists | 16.08.2004 11:46 | Venezuela
The opposition has not yet made any move against the government or the popular assemblies, tensions have largely relaxed, and it appears that the crisis has passed [full report in the article].
Venezuelan social movements have put President Chavez on notice that their support for him during the referendum does not mean that they see his presidency as an end in itself; rather, his presidency should protect the grassroots from Venezuela's ruling elites so that the reach of directly democratic neighbourhood assemblies can be extended. "While Chavez has done some to improve the lives of the poor in Venezuela, the revolution can only advance when the people themselves seize control of all the resources and means of production owed to them." Further information and timeline in the article and in the Venzuela special subsection.
El Universal is now reporting that Maritza Ron has survived, and is listing the injured at eight. Grassroots movements in Caracas are accusing the head of the Organization of American States (OAS) electoral observers, former Colombian President Cesar Gaviria, of working with the oligarchic opposition to whittle down the declared margin of victory for popular forces, something also reported by Justin Podur, an observer in Caracas. Chavez supporters are firmly maintaining the legitimacy of the results: [ 1 ] [2 ]
Update 15:44 Caracas 8:44 BST
The right-wing opposition is claiming that "Chavez supporters" opened fire on their demonstration in the Plaza de Francia de Miraflores, Caracas. Original reports confirmed one death, that of Maritza Ron, 61 years of age, and several injuries. It is not yet clear whether these were in fact Chavez supporters - the Venezuelan opposition has had a history of faking attacks on demonstrations: [ 1 ] [2 ][ 3 ][ video ] Update: 14:31 Caracas 19:31 BST
Election observers from the Carter Center and the Organization of American States have officially accepted the results of the referendum, stating that "observers have not found any element of fraud in the process." However, the right-wing opposition still maintains that massive voting fraud has taken place and is calling for a rally in the middle of Caracas.
4:03 Caracas 9:03 BST
Controversial left-wing president Hugo Chavez has defeated his opponents electorally in a referendum called to remove him from power. The Venezuelan National Electoral Commission (CNE) announced the preliminary result at 4:03AM in Caracas: Chavez gained 58% of votes cast. This total is expected to rise by a few percentage points as votes come in from poorer rural areas.
Although there has been no negative comment about the conduct of the election from either the US-based Carter Centre or Organization of American States election monitors, the country's elites "categorically reject the results." Hundreds of thousands of people are partying in the streets while waiting to see what the anti-popular forces will do next.
imc activists
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podur weblog: worries about opposition + Carter + Gaviria sabotage
16.08.2004 12:56
Venezuela: Chavez wins, the opposition doesn´t respect the victory
Posted by Justin Podur at 03:06 AM
President Carraquero of the National Electoral Council announced the preliminary result as of 3:47 am just now (4:10am) with between 94-96% of the results in. The result: 58% NO (4 991 483 million votes) and 42% SI (3 576 517 million votes). In other words, it´s all over, right?
It should be. The Electoral Council, which was perfectly good for everyone involved until now, is no longer good enough for the opposition. They announced just before the preliminary results that they would not accept the results. And now, as folks have said before, all depends on the Carter Center and the OAS. These groups are in frantic negotiations with the Coordinadora Democratica (opposition) right now. Rumour (I´ll confirm as soon as possible) is that Carter and Gaviria of the OAS are fighting. Carter apparently thinks that the vote ought to be accepted. Gaviria believes that some kind of “solution” should be sought in spite of the clear vote. I am having trouble believing in Carter´s insistence on democracy, but for argument´s sake let´s accept that that´s what´s going on. If that is what´s going on, and if Gaviria and the opposition have their way, it will be an abhorrent message from the world to Venezuelans, that they are on their own in trying to defend their democracy and that international bodies have no credibility to tell them anything. This could end up to be the case. But since we waited so many hours for the people to speak, we ought to give these groups a chance to save a minimum of credibility for themselves as well.
UPDATE (5:35am). In case anyone was worried that the opposition was going to do the right thing and respect the Venezuelan vote, Henry Ramos Allup dispelled that notion dramatically this morning in a televised press conference. According to the Coordinadora Democratica´s own figures (not really sure how they were collected, but some way far more reliable than the double-system of the machines), of 8 million votes counted, SI had 59% and NO 40.6%. Ramos said they would be spending today (Monday) gathering evidence to present to the international community.
This claim, without evidence like virtually every other claim of the opposition, gives the Carter Center, OAS, and international press a real choice. Will they respect the vote of the Venezuelans and their electoral authorities, which they have been praising all day, or will they opt for sleazy, evidence-free claims that are designed to sow chaos and undermine progress?
I wish I wasn´t so sure of the answer.
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Homepage:
http://blog.zmag.org/index.php/weblog/entry/venezuela_chavez_wins_it_is_official_and_preliminary/
VOTING FRAUD EXPOSED IN HOLLAND AMBASSY
16.08.2004 16:05
look there seems to be fraud in the ambassy in holland !
Planet_Inc
Carter Center and OEA confirm victory
16.08.2004 18:42
Carter/OEA avalan triunfo de Chávez
English translation via Babelfish
x50
red star at night, abused Tibetan's in sight!
20.08.2004 03:37
Thank you,
Blessings,
King Amdo.
Please look at...
King Amdo