CARACAS, 17 August 2004 — Venezuelans voted overwhelmingly to keep President Hugo Chavez in office, dealing a crushing blow to a splintered opposition that waged a long and bitter campaign to oust him.
Stunned opposition leaders immediately claimed fraud, but former US President Jimmy Carter and the Organization of American States endorsed the results of Sunday’s vote, which saw one of the biggest turnouts in Venezuela’s history.
Chavez managed to convert one of the biggest challenges of his presidency into an even broader mandate to carry on his “revolution for the poor.”
Francisco Carrasquero, president of the National Elections Council, said 58 percent of voters voted “no” to the question of whether Chavez should immediately end his term in office, and 42 percent voted “yes.” That tally was with 94 percent of the votes counted, he said.
Chavez’s victory underscored the resilience of a leftist firebrand who has bluntly challenged “imperialist” US foreign policies and cozied up to Cuban President Fidel Castro.
“Hopefully, from this day on Washington will respect the government and the people of Venezuela,” Chavez, speaking from a balcony at the presidential palace, told thousands of supporters celebrating under a light rain in the predawn hours.
Trade relations between the two countries may help keep relations on track, despite the acrimony.
Venezuela has the largest oil reserves outside the Middle East, is the world’s fifth-largest oil exporter and provides almost 15 percent of US oil imports. Chavez once said the two countries were “condemned” to have good relations.
News of Chavez’ victory calmed fears that the country would plunge into chaos and affect oil exports, driving down crude oil prices from record highs.
Venezuela’s oil industry suffered no disruptions during the vote and exports were “completely normal” yesterday, said state oil company PDVSA. Chavez promised “stability in the oil market.”
Polling stations stayed open into the early hours yesterday as millions of voters waited up to 12 hours in lines that snaked for several street blocks. Carter said it was the biggest turnout of any election he has monitored, estimating almost 10 million citizens voted in the South American country of 24 million.
“Venezuela has changed forever,” Chavez boomed from the palace balcony as he vowed to continue his “revolution for the poor.”
“There is no turning back,” he declared.
Opposition activists glumly watched the victory celebration on television at their headquarters across town. Some burst into tears and angrily called for street protests. Still, there was no sign of major unrest yesterday.
The opposition Democratic Coordinator coalition said its exit polls indicated a reverse of the official results: Almost 60 percent in favor of the “yes” and 40 percent in favor the “no.”
The opposition-aligned directors of the National Elections Council complained they were not allowed to monitor the tallying of preliminary results, as the three pro-government directors did.
But Carter, a Nobel Peace laureate, urged “all Venezuelans to accept the results and work together for the future.” “Our findings coincided with the partial returns announced today by the National Elections Council,” Carter told a joint news conference with OAS Secretary-General Cesar Gaviria.
Gaviria said observers “have not found any element of fraud in the process.” He said the OAS was willing to listen to opposition concerns “but not to put the results in doubt.”
The coalition demanded a manual recount. If election authorities deny that request, they can appeal to the Supreme Court — which opponents have long claimed is stacked with Chavez allies.
Despite an economic recession and 15 percent unemployment, Chavez won widespread support among Venezuela’s poor majority by spending millions of dollars to teach adults to read, send Cuban doctors to slums and give loans to farmers and small businesses.
Opponents, who accuse Chavez of vilifying the middle class and trampling on democratic institutions, fought for months for the recall referendum.
