Carter Center and O.A.S. guarantee results of Venezuelan Election
El Nacional (translated by IMC) | 16.08.2004 19:25 | World
Article from the Venezuelan corporate newspaper "El Nacional", affirming that the official electoral observers have ruled the referendum on the mandate of President Hugo Chavez fair. The opposition is still calling the election "fraud" at the time of writing however, and claim to have evidence of this. Both observer groups showed their willingness to work with the opposition "if there are precise complaints".
Original article here:
http://www.el-nacional.com/Articulos/DetalleArticulo.asp?idSeccion=64&id=47753
Original article here:
http://www.el-nacional.com/Articulos/DetalleArticulo.asp?idSeccion=64&id=47753
The Carter Center and the OAS guarantees results of the Electoral National Council
Ex-president of the United States Jimmy Carter, and the Secretary-General of the Organization of American States, Caesar Gaviria, said in a joint press conference that, according to the data that they possess, president Hugo Chávez gained victory in the revocatory referendum.
"We are in a capacity to say that our information agrees with the partial results announced this morning by the Electoral National Council", stated Mr. Carter when initiating the conversation with the journalists. He added that "the voting surpassed ten million voters" and that "it's very clear that the opposition almost represents half of the population".
Carter maintained that the electoral authorities and the members of table made efforts to solve the problems that appeared in a diligent manner. "We have registered neither serious situations of intimidation nor violence that affected the will of the voters", he indicated.
Gaviria ratified that the result of the fast count done by the O.A.S. is compatible with the data contributed by the electoral commission. It added that they have not found elements of fraud in the process. "We are convinced that if careful work is done, watching results table by table, the final result must be very coincident with the one of the CNE", he said.
Nevertheless, they showed their disposition to work with the opposition "if there are precise complaints". "Moreover we are sure that the Electoral National Council will give us the cooperation to resolve doubts, or so that the opposition receives the information that it considers necessary to finish making an evaluation of the process", Gaviria said.
Carter was consulted on the mechanisms that the observers used to state that the results were reliable, and answered that they were in the tallying room with the five directors when the data occurred, near 1 am on Monday morning. He clarified that the evaluation of the observers has come from a fast count that was done previously, and this one agreed with that presented to them by the CNE.
Gaviria, on the other hand, clarified that directors Ezequiel Zamora and Sobella Mejías declared that certain parts of the counting had not been completed, but considers that that is very different to declaring that there was a fraud.
He indicated that if the results put the process in any doubt, the observers would be required to inform to the country of this happening. Nevertheless, he affirmed that the preliminary data shown by the CNE do not have any sign of doubt.
Gaviria holds that it is very difficult to manipulate a process like this, and is sure that the opposition will make a serious evaluation of its data. He stressed that so long as a serious element does not appear, "we are not going to put the process in doubt".
He considers that the questions that appear have their origin in oral surveys at the ballot box which were made known on Sunday, but thinks that this does not have sufficient weight to put the process in doubt.
The secretary of the O.A.S. understands that an audit will be made, in which 192 selected tables will be analyzed at random thus to confirm that the results are trustworthy.
Carter, who leaves the country on Wednesday, said that he has no comment on the calls from the group Coordinadora Democratica (CD) for demonstrations, and understands that it is their right. His opinion is that all the Venezuelans must accept the results unless proof appears of irregularities, "and we have not received evidence of it".
EC-HE/el-nacional.com
Ex-president of the United States Jimmy Carter, and the Secretary-General of the Organization of American States, Caesar Gaviria, said in a joint press conference that, according to the data that they possess, president Hugo Chávez gained victory in the revocatory referendum.
"We are in a capacity to say that our information agrees with the partial results announced this morning by the Electoral National Council", stated Mr. Carter when initiating the conversation with the journalists. He added that "the voting surpassed ten million voters" and that "it's very clear that the opposition almost represents half of the population".
Carter maintained that the electoral authorities and the members of table made efforts to solve the problems that appeared in a diligent manner. "We have registered neither serious situations of intimidation nor violence that affected the will of the voters", he indicated.
Gaviria ratified that the result of the fast count done by the O.A.S. is compatible with the data contributed by the electoral commission. It added that they have not found elements of fraud in the process. "We are convinced that if careful work is done, watching results table by table, the final result must be very coincident with the one of the CNE", he said.
Nevertheless, they showed their disposition to work with the opposition "if there are precise complaints". "Moreover we are sure that the Electoral National Council will give us the cooperation to resolve doubts, or so that the opposition receives the information that it considers necessary to finish making an evaluation of the process", Gaviria said.
Carter was consulted on the mechanisms that the observers used to state that the results were reliable, and answered that they were in the tallying room with the five directors when the data occurred, near 1 am on Monday morning. He clarified that the evaluation of the observers has come from a fast count that was done previously, and this one agreed with that presented to them by the CNE.
Gaviria, on the other hand, clarified that directors Ezequiel Zamora and Sobella Mejías declared that certain parts of the counting had not been completed, but considers that that is very different to declaring that there was a fraud.
He indicated that if the results put the process in any doubt, the observers would be required to inform to the country of this happening. Nevertheless, he affirmed that the preliminary data shown by the CNE do not have any sign of doubt.
Gaviria holds that it is very difficult to manipulate a process like this, and is sure that the opposition will make a serious evaluation of its data. He stressed that so long as a serious element does not appear, "we are not going to put the process in doubt".
He considers that the questions that appear have their origin in oral surveys at the ballot box which were made known on Sunday, but thinks that this does not have sufficient weight to put the process in doubt.
The secretary of the O.A.S. understands that an audit will be made, in which 192 selected tables will be analyzed at random thus to confirm that the results are trustworthy.
Carter, who leaves the country on Wednesday, said that he has no comment on the calls from the group Coordinadora Democratica (CD) for demonstrations, and understands that it is their right. His opinion is that all the Venezuelans must accept the results unless proof appears of irregularities, "and we have not received evidence of it".
EC-HE/el-nacional.com
El Nacional (translated by IMC)