Chavez’s party wins majority in Venezuelan vote

[Judi Lynn]

Chavez’s party wins majority in Venezuelan vote
Ian James
Caracas— The Associated Press
Published Monday, Sep. 27, 2010 3:33AM EDT
Last updated Monday, Sep. 27, 2010 3:39AM EDT

President Hugo Chavez held on to a congressional majority in Venezuela's elections, but his opponents made gains that could help them challenge his grip on power.

With the vast majority of votes counted, Mr. Chavez's socialist party won at least 90 of the 165 seats in the National Assembly, while the opposition coalition won at least 59 seats, National Electoral Council president Tibisay Lucena said early Monday.

She said other seats either went to a small party or had not yet been determined. The initial count was announced eight hours after the close of Sunday's voting because there were a number of close races, Ms. Lucena said.

Ramon Guillermo Aveledo, leader of the opposition coalition, called the delayed results “inadmissible.” He said that according to the opposition's tally, anti-Chavez candidates had garnered more than half the popular vote.

More:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/americas/chavezs-party-wins-majority-in-venezuelan-vote/article1727197/

[EFerrari]

1. The article doesn't mention that the polls were held open longer

to accommodate the turn out. That is likely why some results were delayed.

[Judi Lynn]

3. God forbid these corporate sources should allow any of the facts to get through.

That just wouldn't be right(wing).

[bherrera]

11. That is not what is reported here in Spain

The newspapers say the preliminary report of the voting results was delayed a lot longer than is customary in modern countries. It is also reported the opposition won the popular vote, but the election officials, which are controlled by Chavez, have refused to state openly this is what happened. I also read a Venezuelan newspaper via the internet, and they say the majority of the voters in the Caracas region voted for the opposition, but the gerrymander was crooked, and the Chavez party won a wide majority of the seats. It also says the oil producing area called Zulia which is around Lake Maracaibo voted in overwhelming numbers against the communists. This is something they need to worry, because it means the PDVSA workers are against the government.

[Judi Lynn]

14. The reports coming from VENEZUELA included the information the election

was continued to accomodate the voters who were standing in line. PERIOD.

The rest of us read it yesterday.

[Judi Lynn]

15. The Spanish government congratulates Chavez and Venezuela.

It's reported by the 24/7 virulently ANTI-CHAVEZ "news"paper, El Universal:

CARACAS, Monday September 27, 2010 | Update

It congratulated Chávez and the opposition
Spanish government praises Venezuela's commitment to democracy

The Spanish Foreign Ministry believes that the results of legislative elections “are a good basis for a more intense and fruitful dialogue in the National Assembly and other institutions”

Election 2010
The Spanish government congratulated on Monday President Hugo Chávez and the opposition parties on the electoral results, and encouraged them to use the legislative elections held on Sunday "as a basis for a more intense and fruitful dialogue."

In a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Spanish government highly valued "the Venezuelan people's commitment to democratic values." Chávez won the parliament vote, but failed to obtain the qualified majority needed to control the National Assembly.

The statement added said that the Spanish government is pleased by the fact that the polls were carried out in "a peaceful climate and with a very high turnout," Efe reported.

http://english.eluniversal.com/2010/09/27/en_pol_esp_spanish-government-p_27A4527811.shtml
Opposition newspaper

[EFerrari]

16. You really should stop reading that crap.

LOL

[Bacchus39]

17. yep, I've read all that too not to mention the 52% n/t

s

[Judi Lynn]

2. Chávez Allies Win Legislative Majority, but Foes Make Gains

(It would have been impossible not to get more votes, since they boycotted the last election, placed no candidates.)

Chávez Allies Win Legislative Majority, but Foes Make Gains

By SIMON ROMERO
Published: September 27, 2010

CARACAS, Venezuela — Supporters of President Hugo Chávez won a majority in legislative elections held on Sunday, but the opposition secured at least one-third of the seats, giving it the ability to block critical legislation and top federal appointments, the National Electoral Council said here early Monday.

The results, which also revealed a popular vote across the country that was about evenly split, may open a new phase of negotiation and debate within Venezuela’s political system. The National Assembly had been almost tightly controlled by Mr. Chávez’s allies since 2005, when the opposition tactically erred by boycotting legislative elections that year.

Mr. Chávez’s United Socialist Party won at least 90 of the legislature’s 165 seats, while a coalition of opposition parties won at least 59 seats, said Tibisay Lucena, the president of the electoral council. She said several other seats went to a small unaligned leftist party and to indigenous groups, while the winners of some seats were yet to be determined because of close races in parts of the country.

Beyond Sunday’s results, the vote also reflected the capability of Mr. Chávez’s opponents to appeal to large blocs of the electorate, setting the stage for a potentially vibrant challenge by the opposition for the presidency in 2012, when the president’s current six-year term ends.

More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/28/world/americas/28venez.html?_r=1&ref=world

[naaman fletcher]

4. majority of the seats, but a minority of the votes.

The people spoke and a majority voted against Chavez.

[Downwinder]

5. Every non-voter was a vote for Chavez. n/t

[Bacchus39]

6. how do you know?? evidence?? n./t

s

[Downwinder]

7. Moot point. They didn't vote against the winner. n/t

[Bacchus39]

8. jjust the 52% who did vote n/t

s

[Downwinder]

9. When you don't vote, it's a vote for the winner. n/t

[bherrera]

12. I don't think Chavez is the winner

I suspect this election will be a wound on the side of the communists. They won the larger number of seats in the assembly, but they lost the popular vote. The fact can be interpreted with two significant topics:

1. The majority is supporting the opposition

2. The system has been made crooked by the communists, who are very worried about maintaining power. They probably knew they were not so popular, and created this gerrymander system copied from the Americans to make the elections a falsehood. And the people know this, which means they think the government, famous because it is corrupt, now carries the additional weight of the reputation of corrupted elections.

Therefore, it is possible the popular opinion, which has been against the government as reported by the polls, is going to become even more opposed to the government. And that government they have is not very good, their economy is not performing very well. I mentioned before it is a very simple thing, people usually vote against the guys in power when the economy hurts. If the economy of Venezuela continues to go down, then the people are going to be very mad indeed. And the opposition, which can point out they do not control the Assembly, can claim they are innocent, and divert the anger towards the communist side. This will mean a lot of angry Venezuelans waiting for the next elections to get Chavez out of office. Unless those guys can make the economy work, they are in big trouble.

[naaman fletcher]

10. So, in 2000 and 2004

You would say that every non-vote was a vote for Bush?

[Downwinder]

13. I have said so previously. n/t