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WORLD NEWS Tuesday 17 OcTOber 2017

Venezuela opposition looks for answers after election loss

By FABIOLA SANCHEZ and lost his re-election bid
CHRISTINE ARMARIO as governor of Lara state.
Associated Press The official vote count said
CARACAS, Venezuela he trailed ruling party can-
(AP) — Voting sites were didate Carmen Melendez
shifted to distant neigh- by 18 points in the northern
borhoods with rampant state.Even before the elec-
crime. Ballots featured the tion, the opposition was
faces of opposition candi- struggling against apathy
dates who lost in primaries. and disillusionment among
The government-stacked Venezuelans, though the
National Electoral Coun- official turnout figure of
cil denied monitoring ac- 61 percent seemed to in-
creditation to one of Ven- dicate many people did
ezuela’s most important vote.
independent observers. “There is a lot of frustration,”
The opposition pointed on said Luis Vicente Leon, pres-
Monday to those irregu- ident of Datanalsis, a Cara-
larities and others that be- cas-based polling agency.
gan the moment regional “They (the opposition) are
elections were called to going to be divided be-
explain a staggering loss tween those who believe
in gubernatorial contests Opposition members react as the President of Venezuelan National Electoral Council Tibisay there was massive fraud,
it had expected to win in Lucena announces that the candidates for the ruling socialist party have won a majority of the others who think it’s the
Sunday’s voting. 23 governors’ offices up for grabs in regional elections at opposition headquarters in Caracas, fault of the leadership, and
“We encountered an ab- Venezuela Oct 15, 2017. some who believe ‘chavis-
solutely fraudulent sys- (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) mo’ has come back.”
tem,” said Carlos Ocariz, the opposition has proof of strained opposition into At least one of the losing That was certainly the rul-
the opposition’s candi- fraud they should share it. deeper disarray. Some wor- opposition candidates ac- ing party’s conclusion
date in Miranda, the na- “We’re still waiting,” he ried the election loss might cepted the results. Monday, claiming that the
tion’s second most popu- said. strengthen the more radi- “We lost. We have to ac- victory was a profound en-
lous state where the can- The contentious election cal elements of the opposi- cept it,” said Henri Falcon, dorsement for the socialist
didate of the ruling social- threatened to further di- tion and jeopardize chanc- a one-time socialist party ideals installed by the late
ist party won. vide this already polar- es for a negotiated solution politician who in recent President Hugo Chavez
Opposition leaders vowed ized nation and throw the to the political conflict. years joined the opposition nearly two decades ago.q
to contest the vote and
called for protests, though
there was no sign of the Philippines:
mass anti-government
wracked Venezuela this Last leaders of IS-tied siege killed in Marawi
that
demonstrations
year. National Electoral
Council officials stood by By JIM GOMEZ Four military and police of- lic announcement of the the two militant leaders to
the results showing that Associated Press ficials told The Associated latest developments in pave the way for the pay-
socialist candidates won MANILA, Philippines (AP) Press that Isnilon Hapilon, Marawi, a mosque-stud- ment of huge U.S. and Phil-
at least 17 of the country’s — The last two surviving who is listed among the ded center of Islamic faith ippine bounties offered for
23 governorships despite leaders of a deadly siege FBI’s most-wanted terror in the south of the pre- the two.
widespread anger over in the southern Philippines, suspects, and Omarkhay- dominantly Roman Cath- A top Malaysian militant,
a crumbling economy including a top Asian ter- am Maute were killed in a olic nation. Mahmud bin Ahmad, who
where triple-digit inflation, ror suspect, were killed gunbattle and their bod- Defense Secretary uses the nom de guerre
soaring crime, and food Monday in a push by thou- ies were found Monday in Lorenzana later confirmed Abu Handzalah and is a
and medicine shortages sands of troops to retake Marawi. the militant deaths. close associate of Hapilon,
make life a daily struggle the last pocket of Marawi The officials spoke on “Yes, they are confirmed has not been found and
for many Venezuelans. city still held by pro-Islamic condition of anonymity dead,” Lorenzana said, was among the remaining
Socialist party leader Dios- State militants, top security because they were not adding DNA tests would militants being hunted by
dado Cabello said that if officials said. allowed to make a pub- be done on the remains of troops, he said.q