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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Carter Joins Decisive Checks in Venezuela Poll Bid |
| 2004-05-29 |
| Yes, when I think "decisive", the first name I think of is Jimmy Carter. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter on Saturday joined observers monitoring a decisive signature verification stage in an opposition campaign for a referendum against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The Nobel Peace Prize winner, whose Carter Center has worked to end Venezuela’s bitter political conflict for more than a year, visited one of the centers where the opposition is trying to reconfirm disputed signatures in their petition for a vote. I’d feel better if Chicago alderman were down there. At least they know the game. Opponents of left-winger Chavez say international monitors are their only safeguard against a president they charge has manipulated courts and electoral authorities to block any vote on his rule in the world’s No. 5 oil exporter. "I have not seen any irregularities. I have heard about them, but I don’t know if they are true," Carter told reporters in Spanish at a signature center in a Caracas public school. Sounds real "decisive" to me. Electoral authorities are scheduled to announce next week whether the opposition has reached the minimum 2.4 million valid signatures needed to activate an Aug. 8 recall vote against ex-army paratrooper Chavez. The Atlanta-based Carter Center and the Organization of American States have more than 100 observers monitoring the process as part of an accord to end the simmering, often violent political confrontation over Chavez’s five-year rule. Yeah, I’m convinced. The United States, the top buyer of Venezuelan crude, has urged the government to allow a fair referendum process. But the firebrand leader accuses Washington of meddling and backing attempts to topple him, a charge denied by U.S. officials. Chavez, elected in 1998 promising to fight poverty, has dismissed the referendum bid as a fraud by enemies who tried to topple him in a failed coup two years ago. Has no problem with Jimmah being down there though. I wonder why. The National Electoral Council has so far ruled 1.9 million signatures are valid. They ordered 1.2 million questioned signatures to be reconfirmed by voters in the three days of additional checks that end Sunday. In a signal of possible conflict over the verification results, the council has said it will not accept any ruling by the observers to disqualify the process because of fraud. So have a nice vacation, Jimmah. The opposition says pro-Chavez election officials have obstructed all stages of the process, but after another day of checks appeared confident they could reach the minimum target. The second day of the reconfirmation went ahead mostly peacefully, but some voters complained of delays and excessive restrictions imposed by polling center officials. Government supporters have also joined in the verification process to withdraw signatures they say are forgeries. But OAS chief Cesar Gaviria said after meeting with election officials that the problems were not "critical" to the verification process. At a polling station at a run-down public school in central Caracas, bank analyst Pedro Jimenez gave his thumb-print as identification to reconfirm the validity of his signature in the opposition’s petition. "I’ve marched in every march, I’ve signed against Chavez and now I’m signing again to make sure he goes," Jimenez said outside the school guarded by troops. "It’s hard, but we have to try. I’m still optimistic we can still get a referendum." Don’t worry, Pedro. Jimmy Carter’s got your back. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |