August 21, 2004

Venezuelan Vote Audit Confirms Chavez Win

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - An audit of Venezuela's recall referendum has confirmed that President Hugo Chavez won fairly and found no evidence to support fraud charges, observers and electoral council officials said on Saturday.

International observers carried out additional checks after the opposition rejected the results and said electronic voting machines had been manipulated to give Chavez a victory in the Aug. 15 vote. If he had lost, Chavez would have been removed from office.

"The audit is completed. ... The results we have obtained with this check are totally compatible with results of the electoral council," Organization of American States chief Cesar Gaviria told reporters.

The audit found only small discrepancies and no evidence that anyone had tampered with the electronic polling system, monitors said.

Observers had hoped the referendum would end more than two years of political conflict between ex-army officer Chavez and the opposition, who say his reforms are driving the world's No. 5 oil exporter toward Cuba-style communism.