Venezuelan opposition boycotts elections, citing fraud

Cocoa

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Sat Dec-03-05 07:56 PM
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Venezuelan opposition boycotts elections, citing fraud

http://www.zmag.org/content/print_article.cfm?itemID=9250�ionID=45

Venezuelan Elections

by Mark Weisbrot and Larry Birns; December 03, 2005

The decision of four opposition parties in Venezuela to withdraw from elections this weekend raises important questions for the media. It is clear to anyone familiar with the situation that this is an attempt to discredit the election, by parties that (according to opposition polling) were indisputably expected to do very badly in the election. This is despite their control over the majority of the broadcast and print media in Venezuela, as well as most of the country�s national income and wealth.

Yet much of the international press coverage would convince the general reader, who is not familiar with the details of the situation, that these parties may have a case for their claim that the ballot couldn�t be trusted. In this coverage it appears to be a matter of opinion, despite a strong statement to the contrary from the OAS, which is observing the election. (See below). As of this morning, almost none of the English-language press had reported the OAS comments, although they were reported in Spanish-language newspapers such as Clarin in Argentina.

It is clear that the opposition�s attempt to discredit these elections will be joined by powerful figures in the United States, including some Members of Congress and - possibly, depending on how the media covers these events - the White House and State Department.

It is worth noting that most of these same opposition parties, and also S�mate (an opposition group that co-ordinated the August 2004 attempt to recall President Chavez), refused to accept the results of that referendum, which they lost by a 59-41 margin. They claimed that a massive electronic fraud had taken place, and even commissioned a statistical analysis by two economists, at Harvard�s Kennedy school and MIT, which provided a theory and alleged evidence for this fraud. (See: <http://ksghome.harvard.edu/~rhausma/new/blackswan03.pdf> ).

more...

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sam sarrha

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Sat Dec-03-05 08:02 PM
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1. Rove is involved in this

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organik

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Sun Dec-04-05 12:43 AM
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2. funny thing about venezuela

if it weren't for hugo chavez's reforms, it would even be possible for them to challenge him. and speaking of fair elections, the bolivarian republic of venezuela has a branch of goverment DEDICATED to elections. how's that for democracy? Also a branch dedicated to represent the people's will - also more democratic than here.

more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Chavez

Hugo is extremely popular with the people of venezuela, and with good reason.

And, they've got a lot of oil, and they don't like us (American foreign policy that is) - which is why I'm sure the US will jump all over this supposed "election fraud" while ignoring it here at home.

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philb

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Sun Dec-04-05 11:11 PM
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3. There were interviews on NPR of people there who said elections

Edited on Sun Dec-04-05 11:12 PM by philb

clearly reflect the opinion of the majority; that the groups boycotting have little support; that Chavez is popular because of his policies of supporting aid and education and medical help for the poor; majority; etc.

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hunter

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Mon Dec-05-05 01:14 AM
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4. Hi Cocoa. Interesting post.

It is clear that the opposition�s attempt to discredit these elections will be joined by powerful figures in the United States, including some Members of Congress and - possibly, depending on how the media covers these events - the White House and State Department.

Curiouser and curiouser...

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eridani

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Mon Dec-05-05 02:45 AM
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5. Electronic voting sucks

--even in Venezuela. I know they have a paper trail, but it is meaningless without random independent audits.

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