Opposition Makes Gains in Venezuelan Elections

Hugo Chavez will clearly bill it as a landslide that his team won 17 gubernatorial posts Sunday, the real news is that the opposition -- constantly under the hammer in the Chavez regime -- won three crucial gubernatorial races and the mayorship of Caracas. The Miami Herald has more:

"Opposition forces also might claim fraud because the results for the governor's races in 20 of the 22 states on the ballot were not announced until shortly before midnight in Venezuela, after a controversy over voting centers being kept open much later than the 4 p.m. deadline because of long lines.

Venezuelans waited one or two hours to vote -- or longer. It was not clear whether this resulted from a heavy voter turnout of 65 percent or from government incompetence.

The stakes were high because the election results will determine Chávez's next moves at home and abroad.

Chávez's candidates won 17 of the 20 states announced late Sunday night, with the opposition winning two populous states (Miranda and Zulia), one small state (Nueva Esparta) and metropolitan Caracas where Antonio Ledezma is the new mayor.

Chávez can claim satisfaction because his older brother, Adán, won a tight race to be the new governor in their home state, Barinas. Their father is the outgoing governor.

The opposition was hopeful that it would win Carabobo and Tachira, the two other states whose results remained in doubt early Monday morning.

Chávez's party won 20 of the 23 governor's races contested in 2004, so while he won most of the races on Sunday, the opposition parties gained some ground."

Voter turnout was estimated at about 65 percent.