Venezuelan opposition openly calls for a coup

Contrast the scruntiny of the Venezuelan reform vote to Republican voter caging efforts, along with the practise of removing registered voters who happen to have the same names as convicted felons.

The opposition in Venezuela is already planning on rejecting the results of the vote and inciting violence nationwide. There is video (in Spanish) of an opposition meeting (in a church, no less) outlining plans for "destabilisation" after the vote. One of the organisers calls for a million to be mobilised, in ten thousand locations at once, creating such instability that" is not possible to be repressed with 200 armed men [the police]." He adds that this tactic " is a mechanism, much more surely efficient, that forces a political and governmental crisis, that forces the regime to abandon the Reforms."

So much for the democratic aspirations of the opposition. Coup seems to be their first and only means of getting their way. These people are calling for nothing more or less than armed insurrection against the democratically-elected government. In what other country would these people not be jailed? Are these the standard-bearers of democracy that Bush has pinned his hopes to?

Again, in 2002 when these people overthrew Chavez briefly, democracy was not on their list of priorities. Rather, a dictator was installed and a state of emergency was instituted. Nobody rallied to their side and they were swept from power. These tainted "heroes of democracy" are once again at it. They tried to shut down the oil industry and bring the nation into economic chaos. They failed and lost their positions of idle wealth. They brought about a recall referendum to remove Chavez from power. What kind of dictatorship allows a recall referendum if 20% of the voters support it? The Venezuelan kind, I guess. The recall vote failed in a landlside, which somehow was further proof that Chavez is a dictator.

Now this "dictator" is holding an election on Constitutional Reforms - gasp! How autocratic! If enough people vote to extend his term from six to seven years and abolish term limits, he could actually stay in office as long as the people want him to! Surely this must be stopped at all costs. It's madness to allow the citizens of a country to keep a leader in power by electoral means, so the only way to save democracy is through a coup of unpopular, unelected leaders who swear allegiance to a foreign power.
NOTE: this novel definition of democracy is only valid in cases where the elected leaders are not favoured by the American President, who is about as popular as the Venzuelan opposition.

Observers from 39 Countries to Guarantee Clean Referendum Vote

November 30th 2007, by ABN

Caracas, 29 Nov. ABN.- The National Electoral Council (CNE) announced that observers from 39 countries will guarantee a clean voting process during the referendum for constitutional reform to be held this Sunday, December 2nd.

On Thursday, the CNE distributed the International Accompaniment Program for the Referendum on Constitutional Reform.

Included in the list of observers are representatives of Antigua and Barbuda, Germany, Argentina, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Spain, United States, Philippines, Finland, France, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana, Holland, Honduras, England, Italy, Mali, Namibia, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Switzerland, Surinam and Uruguay.

Among these representatives are electoral officials, writers, journalists, ministers, university educators, investigators, parliamentarians and representatives of various social organizations.

CNE Director Germán Yépez said that he expects between 100 and 120 international observers from American electoral entities as well as American and European electoral systems experts.

He explained that this time OAS and EU missions will not participate since the referendum preparation period was too short. The two organizations need five to six months to organize their activities.

Regarding national observation, Yépez emphasized that three NGO’s were authorized: Asamblea de Educación (Education Assembly), Ojo Electoral (Electoral Watch) and Universitarios por la Equidad (University Students for Equity), each of which can accredit around 500 observers.

In closing he announced that Electoral Power representatives would meet with international observers Friday at 9:30 am in the Alba Caracas hotel to discuss the electoral process.