' Venezuela Opposition Leaders Boycott Audit
1 hour, 35 minutes ago
By ALEXANDRA OLSON, Associated Press Writer
CARACAS, Venezuela - Opposition leaders refused Wednesday to
participate in an audit of a referendum that failed to oust Venezuelan
President Hugo Chavez, dealing a setback to international efforts to
dispel allegations of vote-rigging and prevent more upheaval in the
politically divided country.
Opposition leaders claimed they had
unearthed new evidence of fraud, which they
insisted the audit — proposed by former
President Jimmy Carter and the Organization
of American States — would fail to detect.
"Under these conditions, we won't accept this
audit," said anti-Chavez lawmaker Nelson
Rampersad after a meeting between
opposition leaders, Carter and OAS
Secretary-General Cesar Gaviria.
There was no immediate comment from
Carter and Gaviria, who had planned to be
witnesses Wednesday as local election
officials checked a random sampling of
results from 150 voting stations — a rare
follow-up move to an election they have
already said looked clean.
"We have no reason to doubt the integrity of the electoral process nor
the accuracy of the referendum results," Carter asserted at a news
conference Tuesday.
Carter and Gaviria have been working for two years to find a solution to
the often bloody political crisis that has gripped Venezuela, the world's
fifth-largest oil exporting nation.
Rampersad claimed touch-screen voting machines in at least 500 polling
sites produced the exact same number of "yes" votes in favor of ousting
Chavez, a result he said was statistically impossible. He said the
supposed finding indicated the machines were rigged to impose a ceiling
on "yes" votes.
The audit intended to compare electronic and paper ballots. But
Rampersad said opponents were concerned the paper ballots — which
have been under the care of Venezuela's military — may have been
tampered with since Sunday's votes. He said the opposition wanted the
audit to include an examination of the internal workings of the machines'
software.
The referendum was carried out on touch-screen voting machines, which
produced a paper receipt of each vote, much like an ATM. Voters then
deposited the receipts into a ballot box.
Chavez is praised by supporters for giving the poor majority better
services and a voice in politics, while some critics fear he intends to
install a Cuban-style dictatorship. Almost 58 percent voted Sunday to
keep the leftist firebrand in office.
Leaders of an opposition coalition immediately cried fraud. Gunmen fired
on an opposition demonstration later Monday, wounding seven people,
including a woman who later died. Dozens died in a failed coup against
Chavez in April 2002 and in political riots over several years.
Carter made clear that the opposition would look foolish if it keeps crying
foul after the audit, which he said should be completed by Thursday.
"It should be sufficient to address the remaining concerns that have been
expressed by the opposition," Carter said.
In Washington, the State Department said the referendum should end
this South American nation's political crisis.
"The people of Venezuela have spoken," spokesman Adam Ereli said. It
was a conciliatory comment from the U.S. government, which often has
harsh words for Chavez, a blunt critic of U.S. foreign policy.
Strengthened by his victory, Chavez is now setting his sights on
centralizing power, including exerting control over the courts, local police
and the nation's broadcast stations.
The government is "going to deepen the social and democratic revolution
in Venezuela," vowed Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel, the
right-hand man to Chavez.
Chavez said after his latest electoral victory that it will give his
government a "catalyzing energy" to carry out its initiatives, including
"completing the transformation of the judicial branch."
Congress, which is controlled by Chavez supporters, recently
approved a measure allowing that body to remove and appoint judges
to the Supreme Court. One Supreme Court justice has already been
ousted for allegedly falsifying his resume, a charge he denied.
The government is also seeking to exert control over TV and radio
stations, many of which are deeply critical of Chavez. The government
plans to submit a bill to Congress that would allow the government to
ban programming it sees as slanderous or an incitement to violence
and to punish violators.
The government is also studying the possibility of unifying municipal
and state police forces into a national police force, wresting control
from mayors and governors, many of whom are Chavez opponents.
Chavez's drive to centralize power has stoked worries of
authoritarianism among some of his critics. Human Rights Watch
recently issued a statement expressing worries about the
independence of Venezuelan institutions such as the courts.
___
Associated Press reporters Andrew Selsky and Fabiola Sanchez
contributed to this report. '
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