TAREK WILLIANS SAAB	228.814 Votos	55,09 %
GUSTAVO MARCANO	228.814 Votos	40,49 %
BENJAMIN RAUSSEO	18.879 Votos	3,34 %

ESTADO:  AMAZONAS
(Not available for these elections)

ESTADO: APURE

JESUS AGUILARTE	89.724 Votos	56,98 %
MIRIAM DE MONTILLA	41.565 Votos	26,39 %
RAFAEL ROJAS	10.809 Votos	6,86 %

ESTADO: ARAGUA

RAFAEL ISEA	382.845 Votos	58,92 %
HENRY ROSALES	258.684 Votos	39,81 %
ZAPATA LUIS	4.245 Votos	0,65 %

ESTADO:  BARINAS

ADAN COROMOTO CHAVEZ	148.280 Votos	50,48 %
JULIO CESAR REYES	129.111 Votos	43,95 %
RAFAEL S JIMENEZ	14.505 Votos	4,93 %

ESTADO: BOLIVAR

FRANCISCO RANGEL GOMEZ	203.134 Votos	47,03 %
ANDRES VELASQUEZ	132.990 Votos	30,79 %
ANTONIO ROJAS SUAREZ	64.812 Votos	15,00 %

 
ESTADO:  CARABOBO

HENRIQUE SALAS FEO*	407.520 Votos	47,50 %
MARIO SILVA	381.950 Votos	44,52 %
LUIS F ACOSTA CARLEZ	56.290 Votos	6,56 %

ESTADO: COJEDES

TEODORO BOLIVAR	68.903 Votos	52,44 %
ALBERTO GALINDEZ	52.015 Votos	39,59 %
GONZALO MUJICA	8.812 Votos	6,70 %

ESTADO:  DELTA AMACURO

LIZETA HERNANDEZ	36.965 Votos	55,80 %
PEDRO SANTAELLA	16.716 Votos	25,23 %
AMADO HEREDIA	9.578 Votos	14,45 %

ESTADO:  FALCON

STELLA LUGO	202.289 Votos	55,35 %
GREGORIO GRATEROL	162.285 Votos	44,40 %
JHONNY TOVAR	613 Votos	0,16 %

ESTADO:  GUARICO

WILLIAN LARA	146.339 Votos	52,39 %
LENNY MANUITT	93.211 Votos	33,37 %
REINALDO ARMAS	37.440 Votos	13,40 %

ESTADO:  LARA

HENRI FALCON	448.536 Votos	73,52 %
PEDRO PABLO ALCANTARA	88.948 Votos	14,58 %
FREDY ANDRADE	54.251 Votos	8,89 %

ESTADO:  MERIDA

MARCOS DIAZ ORELLANA	195.873 Votos	54,97 %
WILLIAMS DAVILA	159.504 Votos	44,76 %
MARIA DIAZ	906 Votos	0,25 %

ESTADO:  MONAGAS

JOSE GREGORIO BRICEÑO	204.857 Votos	64,86 %
DOMINGO URBINA	47.437 Votos	15,02 %
RAMON FUENTES	40.684 Votos	12,88 %

ESTADO:  NUEVA ESPARTA (ISLA MARGARITA

MOREL RODRIGUEZ*	112.516 Votos	57,53 %
WILLIAM FARIÑAS	81.756 Votos	41,80 %
NELSON SILVA	955 Votos	0,48 %

ESTADO:  PORTUGUESA

WILMAR CASTRO	175.901 Votos	57,89 %
JOBITO VILLEGAS	81.875 Votos	26,94 %
BELLA PETRIZZO	44.656 Votos	14,69 %

ESTADO:  SUCRE

ENRIQUE MAESTRE	204.665 Votos	56,51 %
EDUARDO MORALES GIL	152.870 Votos	42,21 %
ARMICHE PADRON	2.110 Votos	0,58 %

ESTADO:  TACHIRA

CESAR PEREZ VIVAS*	240.478 Votos	49,46 %
LEONARDO SALCEDO	233.995 Votos	48,12 %
ROSA VELAZCO	6.242 Votos	1,28 %

ESTADO:  TRUJILLO

HUGO CABEZAS	170.770 Votos	59,96 %
ENRIQUE CATALAN	74.905 Votos	26,30 %
OCTAVIANO MEJIA	37.666 Votos	13,22 %

ESTADO:  VARGAS

JORGE GARCIA CARNEIRO	85.937 Votos	61,57 %
ROBERTO SMITH	44.939 Votos	32,19 %
CARLOS MAYORA	3.925 Votos	2,81 %

ESTADO:  YARACUY

JULIO LEON	130.659 Votos	57,83 %
FILIPPO JOSE LAPI GARCIA	65.313 Votos	28,91 %
EDWARD CAPDEVIELLE	22.534 Votos	9,97 %

ESTADO:  ZULIA

PABLO PEREZ*	768.137 Votos	53,33 %
GIAN CARLO DI MARTINO	652.081 Votos	45,27 %
SAADY BIJANI	10.277 Votos	0,71 %

Pre-election Predictions

Typically in Venezuela, the opposition adopts a uniform pre-election prediction of their expections in upcoming elections. The results of the 2008 regional elections are in striking contrast with opposition predictions. Their predictions are developed and reinforced by opposition media, giving a platform for cries of election fraud when their expectations are not realized. Remember that no opposition candidate was willing to categorically accept the CNE results prior to this election and none of the opposition voters we interviewed during the electoral process would say they trusted the CNE. When we asked one educated businessman why he did not trust the CNE he replied, "Because I think the country is more balanced than they report". When asked his reasons for thinking so he replied, "It's just my impression".

In this election the media and members of the opposition predicted they would win 12-14 governorships among 22 states (excluding Amazonas) and the Capital District of Caracas. This prediction has been repeated over and over by members of the opposition interviewed by Axis of Logic over the last 2 months including those interviewed at election centers on November 23rd. Some of our friends among the opposition even placed wagers based on these expectations. Again, their unrealistic expectations were based on opposition media reports.

The 2007 referendum vote on constitutional reform serves as an example of the strategy of the opposition leadership who are backed by Washington. Even when the government lost its bid for constitutional reform by a very small margin, the opposition was still unwilling to accept the CNE's report on the referendum. This was due to the expecations raised by opposition leader and former presidential candidate, Manuel Rosales who assured members of the opposition that they would defeat the reform vote by no less than 60% of the vote. When we interviewed the opposition as they celebrated their victory in Plaza de Altamira in East Caracas on the night of the vote (December, 2006), they uniformily rejected the CNE report, claiming uniformly that they had really won by a margin of 60%-40% not by the margin of 1.5% as reported by the CNE.

This map, predicting the results of the regional elections was produced by opposition website, Venezuela Chronicles, prior to the vote, raising expectations of members of the opposition.

The final results of the elections, as reported by the CNE are reflected in this Venezuela Chronicles map. To their credit, Venezuela Chronicles did not question the CNE report as is often the case in opposition media. When Manuel Rosales lost his bid for president of Venezuela in a landslide victory for Chavez in December, 2006, he refused to accept the CNE final report. As a result, this and the private media, most opposition members adamantly refused to trust the CNE.

On the other hand, PSUV voters we have interviewed over the past two weeks were very conservative in their expectations and would not offer predictions on this election, expressing reserve. When pressed for a prediction, one woman at PSUV headquarters in La Victoria told us that she thought the opposition would gain 5 additional states for a total of 8 governorships. As it turned out, the opposition only ended up with 4 governorships and the mayoral post for the Capital District of Caracas.

The voting process in brief

Prior to the elections the government provided information to voters in the form of printed material and electronic voting machines throughout the country where voters could become familiar with the process and actually practice on the machines. The voters we interviewed on election day, including both Chavista and opposition voters told us without exception that casting one's vote was easy and fast. The time required to cast a vote ranged from 1 to 3 minutes. In this process, voters enter a voting center, casts their ballot electronically and receives a printed ballot for verification of their vote. The voter then places the printed ballot in a secure box which is transported under guard to the National Election Center in Caracas. Before leaving the center, voters have their small finger dipped in indelible ink to show that they have already voted. The CNE counts 50% of the paper ballots from each of the 23 states for comparison with the electronic results. The CNE is made up of 5 officers, a mix of government and opposition representatives. The specificity with which CNE reports the vote and confirmation by paper ballot offers incontrovertalble evidence that the Venezuelan electoral process is honest and fair. 130 international observers monitored the 2008 regional elections.

PSUV Victories

President Chavez' political party, PSUV, soundly defeated opposition candidates in 17 among 23 states, or 74% of the governorships (including the Capital District of Caracas) in the country. 6 million Venezuelanos voted for the PSUV country-wide in a ratio of 60-40 which is consistent with past elections. PSUV won 3 states which had previously split with the government. These included the states of Sucre and Aragua which were previously held by the opposition's Podemos party and Guarico which had been held by the leftist PPT (Patria Para Todos) and tried to compete with the PSUV but failed.

Opposition inroads in wealthy states

Antonio Ledezma (opposition), of the Brave People’s Alliance in greater Caracas, won the imporant mayoral post for Greater Caracas - while Freddy Bernal (PSUV), the incumbent mayor of Liberador, the Central District of Caracas, won his post again. Bernal has been the popular mayor of Liberador since the year 2000. Ledezma defeated the only Afro-Venezuelan candidate to run for mayor of greater Caracas. On Globovision (opposition TV) last night, Ledezma delivered an aggressive speech stating that he has "differences with the president of the republic". He said "I have a message for the president of the republic", suggesting that the Chavez administration will ultimately be defeated.

Ledezma was governor of the city from 1992 to 1995 when it was an appointed office. He is known for his close ties to Carlos Andres Perez. Perez was president of Venezuela from 1974-1979 and again from 1989-1973, during the uprising of the people known as the Caracazo in which thousands of Venezuelans were killed by government forces. Perez was forced out of office by the the Caracazo and by the Venezuelan Supreme Court for theft of $250 million from state coffers. Among opposition members who have won offices in this election, Ledezma best represents the old U.S.-backed political system and perhaps one of the greatest threats to the Chavez administration. Ledezma's election to the powerful position as mayor of Caracas is eerily reminiscent of Alfredo Peña who was elected mayor in 2000 as a Chavez' ally but later turned against him. Under Peña's leadership, the Caracas police fired on opposition and Chavista crowds as he participated in the attempted coup against the Chavez government in 2002.

Henrique Capriles Radonski (opposition) defeated the incumbent governor of the state of Miranda, Diosdado Cabello. Miranda is the wealthiest state in the country. Capriles Radoski was mayor of the wealthy Caracas municipality of Baruta (in Caracas) before running for office of Miranda governor.

Pablo Perez (opposition) is the new governor of the state of Zulia. Zulia is on the Colombian border and is known for its wealth and petroleum deposits. Washington-backed opposition leaders have been pushing to break Zulia off from the rest of the country as an "autonomous state". This movement refects the ongoing CIA plan in Bolivia to sever 4 gas rich states from the country.

Margarita: As expected, the opposition also won the tourist island of Margarita (state of Nueva Esparta) which has always been an opposition stronghold.

Election of Mayors

Venezuelans also voted to elect mayors in 335 cities and towns across the country. PSUV (government) candidates won 81% of these offices or 270 our of 335. Many of these PSUV mayors hold office in the 5 states with opposition governors. The PSUV mayors promote community councils with central government funds. This means that the 5 opposition governors will not have carte blanch unless they cooperate with the central government. Likewise, in this power sharing arrangement, the mayors and central government will have to work with governors of these opposition-held states.

Political Parties

Venezuela has a multi-party system. All parties are required to be registered with the CNE prior to elections.

PSUV: The party of President Chavez is the PSUV (El Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela) or the United Socialist Party of Venezuela. In the past year, most leftist parties in Venezuela were united into one socialist party - PSUV. Primary exceptions are PCV (Partido Comunista de Venezuela - Communist Party of Venezuela) and the PPT (Patria Para Todos - Fatherland For All), both of which often vote for PSUV candidates. The PCV, for example, had a large showing in the PSUV march in La Victoria which numbered about 40,000 on November 9, 2008.

Opposition Parties

Opposition parties voting in the 2008 regional elections were 38 in number. The opposition explains their overwhelming defeat in these elections as due to a lack of unity among these parties. However, when one visits the CNE website and looks at each of the opposition candidates receiving votes, it is clear that these many political parties united around the various candidates in this election. For example, Henrique Salas Feo, opposition candidate elected governor of the State of Carabobo, received his votes from 29 different opposition political parties. Examination of other opposition candidates results reveal similar findings."

Wikipedia provides a comprehensive list of all political parties in Venezuela.

Democracy Thrives in Venezuela

The National Electoral Council (CNE) indicated that of the 17 million eligible voters, 65.45% participated - an all time record for regional elections. The government increased its vote by around 1.5 million votes compared to Dec. 2, 2007 reform referendum (+27%) and the opposition fell by about 10% according to figures given by Chavez on television this week.

The electoral process was calm, straight-forward, rapid and easy to navigate according to all reports including interviews of voters by Axis of Logic at election centers in the city of La Victoria. This level of paricipation and the gains by the opposition once again reaffirm the participatory democracy that thrives in Venezuela and should silence claims to the contrary, particularly in the western media. However, given their extreme prejudice against Bolivarian socialism, their penchant for calling President Chavez a dictator and accusations of election fraud will no doubt continue. In a late night address on November 23rd, President Chavez conceded opposition victories in populous state of Miranda and the mayorship of Caracas, stating, "Who can say that there is a dictatorship in Venezuela? Well, perhaps some will continue to say so.”

© Copyright 2008 by AxisofLogic.com 

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