US embassy cable - 04CARACAS2655

UNCLAS  CARACAS 002655 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, KDEM, VE 
SUBJECT:  VENEZUELAN REFERENDUM UPDATE: AUGUST 18 
 
 
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OAS and Carter Center Announce Audit 
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2.  (U) OAS Secretary General Cesar Gaviria and former 
President Jimmy Carter announced August 17 that the National 
Electoral Council (CNE) had agreed to conduct a second audit 
of the voting results that would compare the paper ballots 
with the actas (tally sheets) generated after the results 
were transmitted to the CNE.  While President Carter 
reiterated that the Carter Center had no reason to doubt the 
integrity of the electoral system or the accuracy of 
preliminary the results he said he hoped the audit would 
relieve opposition concerns that fraud occurred.  The audit 
would be based on the paper ballots from a random sample of 
150 voting tables, and the actas from those machines. 
According to the Carter Center, the voting tables to be 
audited will be selected at 6 pm August 18 and the audit will 
begin at 8 am August 19.  All of the machines and 
corresponding data would be pulled in the presence of the 
international observers and government and opposition 
representatives.  Carter warned that it is possible that the 
ballots may not match the number of votes recorded on the 
actas since some people may not have deposited their receipts 
as they were supposed to.  He doubted, however, that a 
sufficient number would be missing to dramatically change the 
results. 
 
3.  (U) Gaviria noted that he was aware of the opposition's 
allegations that the machines were programmed with a ceiling, 
after which SI votes were converted to No votes once they 
reached a certain level.  Nevertheless, he described these 
allegations as vague and suggested that the opposition be 
more precise so the observers could better investigate the 
claim.  Both Gaviria nor Carter discounted the possibility 
that the urns into which voter deposited their paper receipts 
would be tampered with before the audit. 
 
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Opposition/Government Reaction 
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4.  (U)  The opposition reacted to the announcement with 
concern that the terms of the audit would not allow observers 
to detect the irregularities the opposition claims have 
occurred (septel).  Opposition spokesman Nelson Rampersad 
called for a more intense audit that would allow the 
machines, their memory and their software to be reviewed as 
well.  According to Rampersad, this request is based on 
information he says proves that approximately 25 percent of 
the machines (more than 5 thousand) were manipulated to 
record a similar total of Si and No votes in several voting 
centers.  Sumate President Alejandro Plaz recommended 
amplifying the sample to 200 machines to avoid finding a 
result within the margin of error and allowing government and 
opposition party representatives to choose the terms for 
selecting the machines to be audited. 
 
5.  (U)  Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel and Commando 
Maisanta spokesperson Mari Pili Hernandez welcomed the audit 
on behalf of the government.  Rangel reiterated the 
government's belief that the vote was legitimate and cited 
the Carter Center and OAS' original endorsement of the 
results.  He told the opposition they could run all the 
checks they wanted to, but that they would find nothing 
wrong. Smartmatic, the company who provided the machines for 
the vote, also welcomed the audit. Smartmatic President 
Antonio Mujica told poloffs he considered an audit vital to 
defend the reputation of his company. 
 
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OAS Reiterates Confidence in Results 
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6.  (U) In response to the opposition's claims of 
irregularities in the voting machines, the OAS released a 
statement August 18 reiterating their confidence in the 
results of the recall referendum as announced by CNE Director 
Francisco Carrasquero on August 16.  The OAS said the CNE 
gave the organization necessary access to adequately monitor 
the results and outlined the steps the OAS electoral mission 
took to ensure that the voting machines were secure.  The 
 
statement also repeated the electoral mission's confidence in 
the initial audit of the 192 machines conducted the day of 
the vote and the voting process, saying that all who wanted 
to participate could do so freely and without hindrance. 
Shapiro 
 
 
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      2004CARACA02655 - UNCLASSIFIED