http://www.islamonline.org/English/News/2004-08/16/article04.shtml
“They informed me the ball fell in the center of the White House,” said Chavez (AFP)
Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez scored a massive electoral triumph Monday, August 16, taking his victory speech to open fire on the United States.
A large crowd roared its approval as the jubilant leader waved back to his flag-waving supporters from the Presidential balcony shortly after electoral authorities announced he garnered 58 percent of the vote to the opposition’s 42 percent.
His left fist raised in the air, a beaming Chavez led his jubilant supporters in singing the national anthem, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
“What a great victory,” he said as fireworks lit up the night skies a couple of hours before dawn.
Expressing great relief, Chavez said he had scored a home run against the United States with his victory in the referendum.
“They informed me the ball fell in the center of the White House,” he joked in the victory speech.
The former colonel accused US President George W. Bush of backing the Venezuelan opposition, and that Sunday’s referendum is in reality a battle between himself and “the emperor of evil” in Washington.
Chavez had survived an attempt to force him from office when the opposition led a crippling two-month strike of the vital oil sector from December 2002 to February 2003.
True Democracy
The Venezuelan President called the referendum “a true democratic fiesta.”
Sunday’s voting was marked by a massive turnout that forced authorities to keep polling stations open until early Monday morning.
It was also a test of voters’ patience, with many waiting in line for more than 10 hours before they could cast their ballot.
Some of the 14 million registered voters, eager to cast their ballots early, showed up long before dawn, when buglers and fireworks echoed across Caracas to rally voters.
Observers Satisfied
On the whole, observers appeared satisfied with the voting process, and former US president Jimmy Carter congratulated electoral authorities on their “heroic performance.”
Expectedly though, the opposition rejected Chavez’s victory, claiming there was fraud and “gross manipulation” during the voting.
“We categorically reject the results,” said Henry Ramos Allup, spokesman for the Democratic Coordinator opposition coalition.
The two opposition members on the board of the five-strong National Electoral Council said they rejected the official outcome because ballots had not yet been fully audited.
There were fears ahead of the vote that a close result could trigger violent clashes between Chavez supporters and foes whose sporadic battles have killed scores of people in the past two years.
As the recall referendum was underway Sunday, unknown gunmen fired at voters waiting to cast their ballots just outside Caracas, killing one person and wounding 10 others, according to the capital’s fire chief Rodolfo Briceno.
Foes of Chavez had pressed for the referendum, accusing the charismatic President of wasting the country’s oil wealth and of seeking to emulate his close friend Fidel Castro, the leader of communist Cuba.
But Chavez accused the opposition of merely seeking to regain the privileges it used to enjoy before he launched the self-styled revolution he says is lifting millions of Venezuelans out of poverty.
His popularity got a strong boost from recent spending on highly popular health programs made possible by a windfall brought on by record oil prices.
Chavez warned that only his electoral triumph could guarantee crude shipments from the world’s fifth oil exporter, claiming that an opposition victory would lead to privatization of Venezuela’s huge state oil firm, which would prompt oil workers to stage a crippling strike.