Chavez sweeps congressional elections. No fraud seen

The 5 opposition parties boycotted the elections. Chavez' party now control almost all seats of congress, and changes to the contitution will now be implemented easily.
The New York Times report that Alberto Garrido, a critic of the government, said "Chavez would have anihilated them anyway".
The Opposition failed to prove in a referendum last year that Chavez commited electoral fraud. They now attempt to discredit Chavez by not showing up to the elections. These elections were supervised by the OAS/UN
My computer is not letting me copy and paste things so go to the ny times international section and you will read the article.
there is also an article in abcnews about how the opposition is whining to the UN that "nowhere in the world can one consider a normal democracy a situation where the opposition parties withdraw completely from the elections". No comments yet from the UN.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/05/international/americas/05venez.html

December 5, 2005
Chávez's Grip Tightens as Rivals Boycott Vote
By JUAN FORERO
BOGOTÁ, Colombia, Dec. 4 - Venezuela's firebrand president, Hugo Chávez, took overwhelming control of the National Assembly on Sunday after five major opposition parties boycotted a national election for all 167 congressional seats.

Venezuela's leftist government increased its slight majority to take nearly all the congressional seats, the ruling party said, as up to 75 percent of eligible voters stayed away from the polls.

The outcome will permit the National Assembly to change the Constitution easily, as well as enact a range of major changes supported by Mr. Chávez, in areas ranging from Venezuela's health system to the criminal code.

The withdrawal of the parties also ensured that Venezuela's opposition has, for all practical purposes, ceased to exist in an organized form, paving the way for an easy victory by Mr. Chávez for another six-year term in the election for president late next year. Mr. Chávez, first elected in 1998, has already served longer than any leader of a major Latin American country, except for Fidel Castro of Cuba.

"Chávez would have annihilated them anyway," Alberto Garrido, a critic of the government and an author of several books about the president, said by phone from Caracas. "Now, they are starting from scratch. There are people in the opposition, but the opposition leadership is in tumult, without a strategy. Tomorrow, Monday, they will not know what to do."
<snip>

or would they say "Bush Rides Wave Of Popular Support as Voters Reject Democrats"

Chavez just rocks.

oh, btw, boycotting an election is really not a grand idea. If you didn't vote, don't complain. Simple.

;)

"...and I think the time for the death of the old parties has come," said Chavez, after voting at a high school in western Caracas. "Maybe deep in their souls and their subconsciousnesses they accept this, and they wanted to accelerate their demise." said Chavez.
Great quote.