http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/17/us-venezuela-election-recount-maduro
http://news.antiwar.com/2013/04/16/us-wont-accept-venezuela-election-result/
The US State Department says that they want a “full recount” and say it was unacceptable for the National Election Council to certify the result before granting the US the recount it wants.
Officials say that seven people were killed in today’s protests, and 61 others were injured. Prosecutor Luisa Ortega says that135 people have been arrestednationwide.
US calls for Venezuela election recount after narrow win for Nicolás Maduro
Hesitation over recognising Hugo Chávez's successor as president is likely to enrage left in Latin America
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The US secretary of state, John Kerry, said he had yet to evaluate whether the disputed result in Venezuela was legitimate. Photograph: Carolyn Kaster/AP
The United States is hesitating to recognise Nicolás Maduro as president of Venezuela and has called for a recount of the vote from Sunday's closely fought election.
The procrastination is likely to embolden Venezuela's opposition and enrage many on the left in Latin America, who have long accused the US of interfering in the region's politics.
The US secretary of state, John Kerry, said he had yet to evaluate whether the disputed result was legitimate when asked about the matter by members of the House of Representatives.
"We think there ought to be a recount," he told the foreign affairs committee in reference to Venezuelan opposition demands for a full audit of the vote.
At least seven people have died in the protests that have riven Venezuela following Sunday's narrow presidential poll. The National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner by 262,000 votes out of 14.9m cast.
Henrique Capriles, the opposition candidate, claims the count may have been rigged and says he considers the outcome illegitimate unless it is checked in full.
Maduro initially agreed to a recount. But the electoral council as declared the result "irreversible".
On Wednesday, the president of the supreme court said a manual count was an impossibility and called the request for a recount "a deceit of the people" that aimed to destabilise the country.
The ruling party has accused the opposition of plotting a coup, as they did in 2002. Maduro – the political heir of Hugo Chávez – says the US embassy has been inciting violence. His supporters point to WikiLeaks documents that suggest US diplomats have been trying to divide the movement that Chávez pulled together.
The oil-rich country can call on support from foreign allies. The Argentinian president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, and 13 other foreign leaders will attend Maduro's inauguration ceremony on Friday. Among the confirmed delegations are Argentina, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Uruguay, Ecuador, Honduras, Iran, Saudi Arabia and China.
US Won’t Accept Venezuela Election Result
State Dept. Demands Full Recount
by Jason Ditz, April 16, 2013
The Obama Administration has announced that they won’t accept the results of Venezuela’s weekend election, in which President-elect Nicolas Maduro narrowly defeated pro-US candidate Henrique Capriles.
The US State Department says that they want a “full recount” and say it was unacceptable for the National Election Council to certify the result before granting the US the recount it wants.
An anonymous US official conceded that no recount was likely, but said that the US was pretty much obliged to complain about the result so long as Capriles wants a recount.
Capriles has refused to concede defeat and has called public protests. Seven people have been killed in violence related to the protests, and Maduro says he holds the US responsible, believing the US embassy has funded the incidents.
http://news.antiwar.com/2013/04/16/venezuela-president-elect-blames-us-as-protests-kill-seven/
Venezuela President-Elect Blames US as Protests Kill Seven
US Won't Accept Election Results, Demands Recount
by Jason Ditz, April 16, 2013
Venezuelan President-elect Nicolas Maduro has blamed the US Embassy for violent post-election protests today, saying the embassy has been financing “neo-nazi groups” in carrying out attacks.
Officials say that seven people were killed in today’s protests, and 61 others were injured. Prosecutor Luisa Ortega says that135 people have been arrestednationwide.
The rallies were called by Henrique Capriles, the other candidate in the elections. Though the election council ruled he was defeated, he is now demanding recounts and says he won’t recognize the result of the razor-thin vote.
The US State Department says it won’t recognize the results either, and they are also demanding a “full recount” and says they won’t accept the election’s certification by the election commission either, even though that’s already happened.
Maduro and Capriles ran a particularly ugly campaign, and Venezuela seems divided more or less down the middle on the two of them. The US is clearly more comfortable with Capriles, however, and is unlikely to recognize any result that doesn’t give him the office.
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