Chavez survives recall referendum

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has survived a referendum to recall him, according to results released by electoral authorities on Monday with 94.49 percent of the vote counted.

With the ballots counted, 58.25 percent of the electorate voted for Chavez to remain in office and 41.74 percent voted for his mandate to be revoked, announced the National Election Council (CNE).

However, two of the five CNE directors said they disagreed with the results because the ballots had not been properly audited.

"One cannot consider as official the partial results which partof the CNE leadership wants to announce," said Sobella Mejia, one of the council’s officials.

About 10 million Venezuelans cast votes on Sunday to decide whether President Hugo Chavez should finish the remaining two years of his six-year term or step down.

The referendum was scheduled to take place from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., local time, on Aug. 15. but a massive turnout forced authorities to extend the closing time twice and keep polling stations open well after midnight.

Chavez, 49, who was elected in 1998 and reelected to a six-yearterm in 2000, has been accused by his opponents of wrecking Venezuela’s economy. The oppositions launched two general strikes,a 48-hour military coup in April 2002 and a strike at the beginning of last year to demand his stepping down.

After months of negotiations, the Venezuelan government and the opposition signed an agreement on May 29, 2003, setting the framework for a possible recall referendum on Chavez’s continued tenure in office.

On June 3, 2004, the CNE announced that the opposition had collected 2.5 million signatures against Chavez, more than the 2.4million required to call a recall vote.

Hours after the CNE announcement, Chavez said he would accept a referendum on his rule and predicted that he would defeat the opposition. (Xinhuanet)

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-08/16/content_1797381.htm