Capriles’ Camp Files Recount Demand

HAVANA TIMES — Representatives of the Henrique Capriles campaign presented the National Electoral Council (CNE) today with documentation of alleged irregularities during the presidential elections in Venezuela and formalized its demand for a full audit of last Sunday’s vote.

Carlos Ocariz, coordinator of the opposition campaign, said they presented “evidence” to prove “irregularities” and requested that polling station documentation, fingerprints, voting machines, notebooks and the paper voting receipts be audited, noted dpa news.

He also claimed that “many witnesses” were taken from the polls “at gunpoint” during the elections.

“A political crisis has political solutions. What we are asking is very simple and more than 80 percent of Venezuelans agree: review what took place during the electoral process, vote by vote what happened, so that there is a transparent process,” Ocariz said to the press.

Nicolas Maduro, who on Friday will be sworn-in, was proclaimed president by the CNE on Monday amid opposition protests questioning the results announced.  These showed 50.75 percent of the vote (7,563,747) for Maduro compared to 48.97 percent opposition leader Henrique Capriles (7,298,491), who said he would only concede defeat after a “vote by vote” recount since he is “sure” that he won the election.

Ocariz said “irregularities were presented with photos, evidence and allegations”  in a “long and cordial” meeting with the president of the CNE, Tibisay Lucena.

“Hopefully the CNE will deliver a political solution. That’s what we are hoping for. Our right and duty is to speak clearly to the country. Both candidates said they wanted the votes counted while the international community recommended the same. We don’t understand why they don’t do the recount”. Ocariz insisted that any “doubts” would be cleared with the review: “We will accept the final result after the audit,” he added.

Lucena said the CNE will respond to the opposition request based on the Constitution “as quickly as possible.”