Henrique Capriles demands recount as Nicolas Maduro wins Venezuelan presidential election

Posted on Monday, 04.15.13
Venezuela Elections

Henrique Capriles demands recount as Nicolas Maduro wins Venezuelan
presidential election
BY JIM WYSS
jwyss@MiamiHerald.com

CARACAS -- Hugo Chávez proved his power from beyond the grave Sunday,
as his handpicked successor narrowly won office in a contested vote that
many saw as a tribute to the fallen socialist firebrand.

Nicolás Maduro, 50, a long-time ally of the late president, narrowly
edged out rival Henrique Capriles in a race that will be contested.

Maduro won 7.505 million votes, or 50.6 percent, vs. Capriles' 7.270
million, or 49.1 percent, the National Electoral Council (CNE) said.
With 99 percent of the vote counted, the results were conclusive, the
CNE said.

During his victory speech, Maduro, the interim president, said he would
agree to a complete recount.

"Let the boxes speak and let them tell the truth," he said. Venezuela's
voting is electronic but the system produces an auditable paper trial.

Maduro also said he spoke to Capriles, but told his rival he had to
accept the results.

"If the CNE had said the other candidate had won even by a single vote I
would be handing over power," Maduro said as fireworks burst over the
capital. "But I won by almost 300,000 votes, it's the decision of the
people."

Capriles said his camp had counted 3,200 campaign violations during the
day and that his internal count proves he won. He demanded a complete
recount.

"The people have expressed themselves but the results do not reflect the
reality of the country," he said. "Mr. Maduro, if you were an
illegitimate leader before this process you are even less legitimate
now. . . . The big loser today is you and what you represent."

Maduro said presidents in the United States and Mexico had won by
narrower margins and were allowed to govern in peace.

But the tight race was a rude shock for the administration. Chávez had
defeated Capriles by 11 percentage points just six months ago, and
Maduro went into the race leading many polls by double digits.

Maduro said his campaign had been the victim of a "psychological war"
and shadowy mercenaries who were trying to spark violence and sabotage
the electrical system. He also said it was the first vote in 14 years
that took place without "father" Chávez.

"Now his son is going to be president of the republic and will prove
what he's capable of," Maduro said. "We are going to build a new and
powerful majority."

He also warned the opposition against trying to take power through a
coup. "If they do try it, we'll know how to respond," he said.

The opposition had been complaining of irregularities all day. And as
polls began closing late Sunday, Capriles posted on Twitter that the
administration was "trying to change the will of the people."

As the results were announced, Capriles supporters shouted, "Fraud!"

"I don't believe this," said Betty Weber, 60, with tears in her eyes.
"Everyone knew we were winning. They're just playing the same game as
always."

Maduro, 50, takes the helm of a deeply divided nation plagued by
violence, and struggling under record inflation, power outages and food
shortages. Maduro has vowed to make crime and the economy his two top
priorities, but offered few olive branches to the administration's
traditional "enemies."

Asked whether he would seek reconciliation with the opposition, Maduro
said his administration is always open to dialogue but not "pacts with
the right wing."

He also said there could be no rapprochement with the United States
until Washington "respects" Venezuela. In March, the government expelled
two U.S. diplomats it accused of "conspiring" with members of the armed
forces. On Sunday, Maduro said his government would offer additional
details about U.S. meddling here.

"We will never accept it," he said of U.S. interference. "While I am
president and the revolution is governing we will not allow any empire
to humiliate us."

The loss was a serious blow to an opposition that has been defeated in
three back-to-back races.

After Capriles lost to Chávez in October, ruling-party allies swept 20
out of 23 governors races in December.

Before the results were announced, Luís Vicente León, with the
Datanalisis polling firm, conceded that Capriles' second loss in six
months might leave him "forgotten, destroyed and pulverized
politically," but he said many opposition supporters understand that the
40-year-old governor was facing an uphill battle.

This race was "seen as an epic sacrifice to represent the opposition and
fight for political space no matter how tough," he said.

Venezuela does not allow electoral observers, but it does invite
"accompaniers" to follow the vote.

On Sunday, a delegation with the Inter-American Union of Electoral
Organizations was having photos taken in front a sidewalk shrine to
Chávez, where citizens had placed flowers, letters and cups of coffee.

The delegation's president, Roberto Rosario, said his group had not seen
any blatant campaign violations Sunday.

"What we're seeing is people voting calmly. There's no sense of
confrontation," he said.

Asked about pro-government propaganda that was in Sunday's newspapers
and on public television, Rosario said it was largely a consequence of
the compressed 10-day campaign. The opposition also had thinly veiled
ads in some papers, he said.

"There are issues on both sides," he said. "But when the issues are
equal we cannot talk about one side having an advantage."

Diego Sueiras is the mission chief for Redlad, a network of observer
organizations that was denied the right to "accompany" Sunday's vote.
Sueiras said the election was deeply flawed because of the uneven
playing field leading up to the vote.

"We're in a system where democracy doesn't seem to matter before or
during the election," he said. "All that seems to matter is that they
can count the votes."

When Chávez died last month after an 18-month battle with cancer, it
triggered snap elections and a brief but bitter 10-day race. The
opposition has accused the ruling Unified Socialist Party of Venezuela,
or PSUV, of hijacking government resources to favor Maduro.

The Capriles campaign said pro-government supporters were rallying
around some voting stations and that PSUV activists were accompanying
voters to the ballot box, violating their right to a secret vote.

Rosa María Camargo, a 42-year-old accountant, said she had heard reports
about pro-Maduro crowds intimidating voters. As she held her 2-year-old
son, she broke down in tears.

"I want to have a real country for my son, not this disorder," she said.
"If Maduro wins, it's going to be because of these abuses."

Born in Caracas in 1962 to a working-class family, Maduro was a student
leftist and a bus driver before becoming a union organizer for Caracas
Metro system.

His political journey ultimately led him to a jail cell where Chávez, a
young military officer, was being held after trying to overthrow
President Carlos Andrés Pérez in 1992. Maduro and his longtime partner,
Cilia Flores, now the attorney general, worked to win Chávez's release.

Maduro helped write the 1999 constitution and became the head of the
National Assembly. But he became an international figure in 2006, when
Chávez plucked him from the job to become foreign minister. He held that
job until October, when the ailing Chávez made him his vice president.

On Sunday, Maduro said he was going to visit the hilltop gravesite of
his hero.

"Commander," Maduro said. "Mission accomplished."

Miami Herald Special Correspondent Andrew Rosati Contributed to this
report.

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