Israel Matzav

Chavez protege 'wins' elections

Nicolas Maduro, a former bus driver and protege of Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, has been declared the narrow winner of that country's elections. But the opposition is not accepting the results.

Opposition candidate Henrique Capriles said he did not recognize the official results that gave Maduro 50.7 percent support versus 49.1 percent for him, a difference of just 235,000 ballots.

"Mr. Maduro, if you were illegitimate before, now you are even more loaded with illegitimacy," Capriles said, adding that his team had identified more than 3,000 "incidents" during the voting.

Capriles' refusal to accept the result raised fears of political unrest in Venezuela, an OPEC nation with the world's biggest oil reserves.

The National Electoral Council earlier said that more than 99 percent of votes had been counted and that Maduro's victory was "irreversible."

Government supporters immediately gathered to celebrate outside the Miraflores presidential palace, where Maduro paid an emotional tribute to Chavez, the socialist leader who named him as his successor in his last speech to the nation before dying last month from cancer.

"The fight continues!" Maduro, 50, told the victory rally.

The Nazis were 'elected' too. 

If you're a Jew in Venezuela, it's long past time to get out.

Labels: Hugo Chavez, Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela, Venezuelan Jewry

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:10 PM