The Irish Times - Dec 1, 2005
Opposition parties pull out of Venezuela elections
by Chris Kraul in Mexico City
VENEZUELA: Three Venezuelan opposition parties have announced they are
withdrawing all candidates from Sunday's legislative elections, claiming
election procedure irregularities make a fair vote impossible.
Officials in President Hugo Chavez's government, meanwhile, claimed that
the withdrawals were a reaction to the dismal prospects that the parties
faced in the upcoming balloting. Polls show that Movimiento Quinta
Republica and other parties aligned with Mr Chavez are likely to further
strengthen their solid majority of seats in Venezuela's National
Assembly.
"Very well, let them go to hell," said vice-president Josi Vicente
Rangel, in response to news of Accion Democratica's withdrawal. "They
say this process isn't clean, but this is the cleanest in Venezuela's
history."
"They're withdrawing and calling fraud. What fraud? Accept the truth!
... It was them that betrayed the people's hopes for so many years,"
said Mr Chavez during a trade accord signing with Italian officials in
Caracas on Tuesday.
The parties that are withdrawing are Accion Democratica, which was the
dominant Venezuelan political party prior to Mr Chavez's rise to power;
Proyecto Venezuela, and the Social Christian Party. Together the three
now hold 35 seats in the 165-seat assembly. Chavez loyalists control a
majority of 86 seats.
The withdrawal shows the deepening polarisation in Venezuela's political
scene. Mr Chavez has held power since early 1999, survived a coup
attempt in April 2002 and a referendum to remove him from office in
August 2004.
Mr Chavez, an ex-paratrooper, is due to stand for re-election late next
year, and at this point he is the clear favourite. He has launched a
host of social programmes including cut-rate groceries, adult education
and medical help to benefit the poor.
But opponents claim he has also slowly restructured Venezuela's
electoral, judicial and legislative institutions so he can bend them to
his will. One such institution is the national election council known by
its Spanish initials CNE, which is controlled by a pro-Chavez majority.
Alleged irregularities uncovered last week in a test of CNE voting
machines prompted the three parties to withdraw on Tuesday.
The CNE announced Monday it was withdrawing the voting machines, which
verify voter identity through thumbprints, but that the elections would
be held on Sunday as scheduled with electronic balloting machines.
After the test, Accion Democratica and the Social Christian Party
requested a postponement of the vote until the machines could be
reprogrammed. Salas Romer said his party asked that the machines be
jettisoned altogether and that there be a return to manual balloting.
Maria Corina Machado, of Sumate, a voting rights organisation, said
there had been an increasing "lack of transparency" in the electoral
process since Chavez loyalists took control of CNE. - (LA
Times-Washington Post service)
) The Irish Times ) Los Angeles Times
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