VENEZUELA: Opposition leader says country is divided after his party loses most mayoral seats but wins those of two largest cities
Record ID:
567048
VENEZUELA: Opposition leader says country is divided after his party loses most mayoral seats but wins those of two largest cities
- Title: VENEZUELA: Opposition leader says country is divided after his party loses most mayoral seats but wins those of two largest cities
- Date: 9th December 2013
- Summary: CARACAS, VENEZUELA (DECEMBER 8, 2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF OPPOSITION LEADER HENRIQUE CAPRILES GIVING NEWS CONFERENCE VARIOUS OF OPPOSITION LEADERS WHO WON MAYORAL SEATS LISTENING TO CAPRILES (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HENRIQUE CAPRILES, OPPOSITION LEADER, SAYING: "There's a divided Venezuela and to me it's clear that for our unity, our country does not have one (single) owner. The owner of Venezuela must be all Venezuelans." VARIOUS OF AUDIENCE LISTENING TO CAPRILES (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HENRIQUE CAPRILES, OPPOSITION LEADER, SAYING: "To come out with a speech full of threats and intimidation is, without a doubt, to ignore what happened today where 58% voted. In other words, many Venezuelans didn't go out and vote today. They didn't go out to express themselves." CAPRILES SPEAKING DURING NEWS CONFERENCE
- Embargoed: 24th December 2013 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of
- Country: Venezuela
- Topics: Politics
- Reuters ID: LVAAN2DC0900PGMJJ09OAXVH4GHR
- Story Text: After Venezuela's socialists won the majority in local polls but lost the mayoral seats of the country's two largest cities, opposition leader Henrique Capriles said the country was divided and that many Venezuelans failed to cast their ballots.
"There's a divided Venezuela and to me it's clear that for our unity, our country does not have one (single) owner. The owner of Venezuela must be all Venezuelans," he said in a midnight speech.
On Sunday (December 8), President Nicolas Maduro's government won a majority of votes in Venezuela's local elections, disappointing the opposition and helping his quest to preserve the late Hugo Chavez's socialist legacy.
With votes in from three-quarters of the nation's 337 mayoral races, the ruling party and allies won 196 but Capriles' party won the mayorships of the country's two largest cities, the capital city of Caracas and Maracaibo. The opposition also won the capital of Barinas, Chavez's home state.
But their failure to win the overall vote share was a blow to Capriles' claim that he leads a majority. Capriles had repeatedly called for the vote to be seen as a referendum on Maduro's performance.
After the vote, he said it was important to make note that many people had not gone out to vote.
"To come out with a speech full of threats and intimidation is, without a doubt, to ignore what happened today where 58% voted. In other words, many Venezuelans didn't go out and vote today. They didn't go out to express themselves," he said.
Opposition activists alleged some irregularities on Sunday, including intimidation of some observers and the use of state oil company PDVSA's vehicles to ferry pro-government voters.
Capriles accused the government of intimidating local media to silence his voice and running the most unfair campaign in Venezuelan history, but unlike April's vote, there was no call by Capriles for the results to be appealed or opposed.
Since taking power in April, Maduro, a 51-year-old former bus driver, has faced a plethora of economic problems including slowing growth, the highest inflation in the Americas, and shortages of basic goods including milk and toilet paper. Yet an aggressive campaign launched last month to force businesses to slash prices proved popular with consumers, especially the poor, and helped Maduro's party.
Sunday's election was the biggest political test for Maduro since he narrowly won the presidential election after Chavez's death from cancer ended his 14-year rule of the OPEC nation. Winning the overall vote share may help Maduro shake off perceptions of weakness, enabling him to exert more authority over the different factions in the ruling Socialist Party and perhaps take unpopular measures such as a currency devaluation.
The opposition's next chances to gain political ground are 2015 parliamentary elections and a possible signature drive for a recall referendum on Maduro in 2016. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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