Posted on 12/02/2003 12:01:55 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Monday criticized Organization of American States chief Cesar Gaviria for contradicting his charges that his opponents committed fraud in an opposition signature drive seeking a referendum on his rule.
Speaking to several thousand cheering supporters at a late night rally, the leftist president repeated an accusation made over the weekend that his foes cheated massively in the four-day signature campaign, which ended Monday.
"Dr. Gaviria said he saw nothing abnormal. ... I think you overstepped the mark, Dr Gaviria," said Chavez, who also complained that the OAS Secretary General failed to seek a meeting with him during his stay.
Earlier Gaviria, who headed a mission of international observers monitoring the Venezuelan referendum process, directly contradicted Chavez's accusations by saying he had seen no evidence of widespread fraud.
Chavez, who has ruled the world's No. 5 oil exporter since 1998, questioned the OAS chief's impartiality, commenting that he "spent a lot of time with the opposition."
The comments by the populist president stirred fears that he would refuse to accept a referendum against him. It also raised the possibility of a public dispute with Gaviria, a former Colombian president and leading diplomat in the Americas.
Opposition leaders hailed their pro-referendum drive as "a triumph of democracy," saying they believed they had collected enough signatures to trigger the referendum against Chavez.
They say his self-proclaimed "revolution" is dragging Venezuela toward Cuba-style Communism.
Venezuela's National Electoral Council will have the sensitive job of verifying the signatures collected to see if they reach the 2.4 million legally required to secure a vote. If they do, a referendum could be held in March or April.
One opposition leader, anti-Chavez union boss Alfredo Ramos, told Reuters he estimated 3.7 million pro-referendum signatures had been gathered over the last four days.
But senior government officials insisted the signatures collected had not reached 2 million.
"BAD LOSER"
Earlier, opposition leaders had dismissed Chavez's fraud accusations as an act of desperation. They said the tens of thousands of pro-referendum voters who turned out to sign had sent a powerful message of rejection to the president.
"I see Chavez's reaction as the outburst of a bad loser," Julio Borges of the Democratic Coordinator opposition coalition said.
Chavez, addressing a large crowd of followers outside Miraflores palace, said he had "unquestionable evidence" that widespread fraud had been committed by the opposition.
He cited cases of non-Venezuelans signing the pro-referendum petition and of people using the identity cards of dead people. "That's just the tip of the iceberg," he said.
Gaviria and another leading international observer, Jennifer McCoy of the Atlanta-based Carter Center, had praised the referendum process, describing it as generally trouble-free and saying it showed the strength of Venezuela's democracy.
"Up to now, we haven't received proof of fraud," McCoy said, adding that such allegations should be dealt with by the National Electoral Council.
Ninety percent of the team of 55 international observers who monitored the signature campaign described it as "good." Only minor clashes were reported at some centers.
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