Presidents of Brazil Luis Igancia Lula Da Silva (left), Argentina Nestor Kirchner and Venezuela Hugo Chavez (right) joke with a pedestrian from a balcony after a meeting during the summit of the Mercosur, in Montevideo, Uruguay yesterday.CARACAS, Venezuela, (Reuters):
VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT Hugo Chavez blasted the European Union and the Organisation of American States yesterday, saying they "connived" against his government after they released mixed reports on this week's Congress elections.
Allies of left-winger Chavez have claimed victory in all 167 seats in Venezuela's National Assembly after most opposition parties boycotted the poll because they said they could not trust electoral authorities to gua-rantee a fair vote. Final tallies have not yet been released.
The OAS and EU said the December 4 election was largely fair, but noted some irregularities in voting and distrust of election officials. They urged the National Assembly to quickly appoint a new electoral authority to build voter confidence.
Speaking from Uruguay's capital Montevideo, Chavez rejected the reports as an "ambush" and accused the Washington-based OAS and the European Union of working to destabilise Venezuela.
"This is a tactic against Venezuela, they've sown a minefield, they left a minefield behind, looking to destabilise Venezuela," Chavez told delegates from South American nations meeting to welcome Venezuela into the Mercosur trade bloc.
"These delegates, both from the OAS and the European Union, connived against the interests of the Venezuelan people and against Venezuelan democracy," he said in an address broadcast on state television.
ATTACKS UNITED STATES
Chavez, a former soldier allied with Cuba, often attacks the United States, saying it is trying to overthrow him. Washington says Chavez and his self-proclaimed socialist revolution threaten regional stability.
Since winning a recall referendum last year, Chavez has consolidated his support in the world's No. 5 oil exporter by spending billions in petroleum revenues on projects for the poor. He has expanded his influence overseas with energy deals with Caribbean and South American neighbours.
Venezuelan opposition leaders accuse him of eroding democracy by extending his political influence over the country's courts and the National Electoral Council to tighten his grip on power.
After a failed effort to recall Chavez in 2004, most opposition groups claimed widespread fraud and fell into disarray. But observers from the OAS and the Atlanta-based Carter Center said they had found no evidence of vote tampering.
Electoral authorities have since ceded to opposition requests for more guarantees and audits on the automatic voting system. But many in the opposition ranks still distrust the electoral council and the voting system.
