Military

DATE=8/16/2004

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=VENEZUELA/OBSERVERS (L-ONLY)

NUMBER=2-318285

BYLINE=GREG FLAKUS

DATELINE=CARACAS

HEADLINE: International Observers Confirm Chavez Win in Venezuela Recall Election

INTRO: International observers from the Organization of American States and the U.S.-based Carter Center have confirmed the Venezuelan Electoral Council's election results in which President Hugo Chavez emerged as the clear winner. Nonetheless, as VOA's Greg Flakus reports from Caracas, opposition leaders are claiming fraud and threatening protests.

TEXT: In spite of opposition complaints, O-A-S Secretary General Cesar Gaviria says international observers who followed the voting process on Sunday and into the early morning hours Monday are confident in the results.

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He says the observers did not find any evidence of fraud, nor has anyone presented them with specific allegations of fraud. He says the results presented by the Consejo National Electoral, or National Electoral Council, are correct.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who headed the delegation of the Atlanta-based center that bears his name, says close observation of the vote counting in the early morning hours provided proof that the process was carried out properly.

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"We were in the totalization room (central vote counting chamber) with all five directors at the time that the figures were derived from the machines. As has been the case with our evaluation of elections in many countries, the Organization of American States and the Carter Center cooperated on a quick count. This was done at the actual voting places and we have found that our information from that quick count was almost exactly the same as the results obtained from the consejo (the Electoral Council.)"

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Mr. Carter and Mr. Gaviria say there are still discrepancies between the joint OAS-Carter Center quick count, the count produced by the opposition organization called Sumate (SOO-mah-tay) and the official results. However, they say these differences of a few points one way or the other are not enough to change the outcome.

Mr. Gaviria called on all elements of Venezuelan society to now come together to overcome differences and to create a new period of cooperation and peaceful dialogue.

But various opposition leaders continue to call for protests, claiming that President Chavez stole the election.

Alberto Quiros Corradi, a representative of the Democratic Coordinator, the opposition umbrella group, says the fraud was likely committed in the electronic recording of votes, something the quick counts done by observers might not detect.

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He is calling on the international observers to take charge of the actual ballots so that they can be counted and compared with the results compiled at the electoral council vote center. He says that while quick counts done by the opposition coincide with those done by the observers, exit polls carried out by a group associated with the opposition show a clear victory for the recall.

An opposition web site on Monday provided results based on exit polls showing 59 percent in favor of removing President Chavez and 41 percent in favor of his remaining in power. The official results were almost exactly the opposite.

In Washington, a U-S State Department spokesman called on all sides to refrain from violence. The spokesman congratulated Venezuelans on their participation in the peaceful democratic election Sunday, but withheld further reaction until final official results are released. (signed)

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