(Updated below)
Marxist and Hollywood hero Hugo Chavez called for a sustained attack on the ballot box as Venezuelan voters went to the polls to elect a new Congress. The old Congress is filled with socialist Chavez stooges… sort of like what we have here in America.
Maria Corina Machado is the the face of the Venezuelan opposition against the Marxists.
Venezuela Finance Minister Jorge Giordani was “verbally attacked” by opposition members while standing in line to vote in legislative elections Sunday. Among the shouts were calls for him to move to Cuba, where they said his socialist theories would be more welcomed.
FOX News reported this earlier:
Voters in cities across Venezuela were awaken in the predawn morning to loud explosions over their skies– the fireworks (more noise than light display) served as a reminder by President Hugo Chavez’s government to the electorate that today is not just another Sunday, but an election day of major political significance. Chavez, who embraces both social media, and military jargon, told his followers on Twitter to” un-sheath their swords” and ” Attack!”.
The 2010 election is the biggest political battle in years in this South American country, pitting Chavez’s socialist political party vs. an alliance of opposition political forces. All 165 seats in the Venezuelan version of Congress, La Asamblea Nacional, are on the ballot today, and for weeks, national polls have predicted a heavy turnout for both sides. Today, Venezuelan TV networks, like Globovision and TVes, showed lines of voters waiting around city blocks to cast their choice for congressmen, called “diputados” here.
The legislative body has been overwhelmingly controlled by Chavez’s United Socialist Party of Venezuela–the PSUV– since opposition forces boycotted the 2005 vote over what they considered unconstitutional interfering by the controversial president.
The move backfired on the coalition of Chavez opponents who have watched on the side lines for the past 5 years as the Chavista-controlled Asamblea rubber-stamped the president’s socialist laws. Opposition candidates say that 2010 is their opportunity to rectify the mistakes of 2005, and fight back against a government that they describe as taking away the constitutional rights and personal liberties of the Venezuelan people.
” Fear has been sowed in the hearts of many Venezuelans,” says Maria Corina Machado, the telegenic, and charismatic congressional candidate, who has been the face of the opposition during this election cycle. ” A degree of intimidation of political terror has been put in every single citizen.We need to fight and give Venezuelans the reasons and the emotions to believe that together we can overcome a government that has been taking away our freedoms.”
Daniel is following the election results at Venezuela News.
Official results were expected late Sunday or early Monday.
UPDATE: Chavez thugs are out roaming in the streets following the election:
(Globovision)
UPDATE: (Monday AM) The Opposition did better than expected in the election.
The Telegraph reported on the results:
The opposition Democratic Unity umbrella group claimed it won a majority of the popular vote though only a third of seats. If confirmed, that would be a blow to Mr Chavez.
With final results still coming in, however, Mr Chavez, was close to obtaining the three-fifths of seats he needs that would enable him to hold powers of special decree and bypass parliament…
Democratic Unity had 62 seats in parliament, with almost all the votes counted. A source at the electoral council backed the opposition’s claim of winning 52 per cent of votes. “This gives us a lot of political power,” said Armando Briquett, spokesman for Democratic Unity.
The government was always likely to get a higher percentage of seats than votes due to changes in electoral districts and voting rules.
For the opposition, the election has nonetheless given them their first significant presence in parliament for years. They boycotted the last vote in 2005 but managed to unite this year and will hope to replicate that in 2012.
The opposition chanted, “We are the majority!”
Petroleum World reported:
Benefiting from discontent at a deep recession, soaring violent crime and electricity shortages in South America’s top oil exporter, Democratic Unity took 62 seats, with almost all the votes counted. A Reuters source at the electoral council backed Ramon Guillermo Aveledo a principal opposition leader claim that his Democratic Unity alliance won 52 percent of the popular vote.
Chavez won a majority in parliament but opponents surpassed expectations to take over a third of seats, limiting his power and boosting their bid to stop his re-election in 2012, said independent analysts.
“We are the majority!” sang the opposition after the results were announced in early hours of Monday.
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