Under military escort, two buses transported 250 boxes with the signatures to the National Elections Council, as residents unfurled Venezuelan flags outside their windows, chanting "He's leaving, leaving, leaving!"
The number of signatures was a million more than the opposition needed to force a referendum. Council director Jorge Rodriguez said they wouldn't start verifying the petitions until after the holidays on Jan. 5. After that, the council has 30 days to decide whether to call the referendum.
If an actual vote is held, the opposition must obtain more votes than the president did in the 2000 elections — almost 3.8 million. Venezuela, with an electorate of 12 million, traditionally has high voter abstention rates.
The Organization of American States and the U.S.-based Carter Center monitored the opposition's four-day petition drive and said they saw no evidence of widespread fraud. OAS and Carter Center officials also plan to observe the verification process. ***
The local El Universal quoted Nelson Ramiz on Friday as saying the visas for pilots subcontracted by the airline were suspended last week without any explanation from the U.S. government.
Ramiz said the airline has requested an explanation from the U.S. consul in Venezuela, but has yet to receive an answer.***