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UP FRONTMonday 7 December 2015

At Press Time: Messy midway:
Venezuelans elect legislature amid tense race Paris draft climate deal ready;
universal pact could take time
HANNAH DREIER authorities also suspend- of Sunday’s vote, but many
Associated Press ed the credentials for yes, Venezuelans still fear post- KARL RITTER
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) former Bolivian President election violence. Maduro SYLVIE CORBET
— The socialist system built Jorge Quiroga, one of six had repeatedly vowed in Associated Press
by Hugo Chavez faced its conservative leaders in- recent weeks to take to LE BOURGET, France (AP) — Negotiators adopted a
gravest electoral test Sun- vited by the opposition to the streets if his party lost. draft climate agreement this weekend that was clut-
day as Venezuelans cast monitor the election, for Opposition leaders said tered with brackets and competing options, leaving
ballots in what seems to controversial comments that if their coalition failed ministers with the job of untangling key sticking points
have become a tighten- seen as interfering in the to win, it would mean the in what is envisioned to become a lasting, universal
ing race for control of the voting process. state cheated. pact to fight global warming.
national legislature. Some members of the op- On Sunday, Maduro ap- As the U.N. talks outside Paris reached their midway
Voters woke to state-spon- position are angry after peared to have changed point, the 48-page draft agreement was sent along
sored fireworks and music elections officials ordered his tone. to environment and foreign ministers who will work on
in working-class parts of polling centers to stay “In Venezuela, peace and it next week.
Caracas. Wealthier neigh- open for an extra hour, democracy must reign,” he “So let’s work,” French President Francois Hollande
borhoods, which tend to even if no one was stand- said after voting in a work- said in a speech this weekend. “It’s up to the ministers
and officials of every government to remove options,
A mural of Venezuelan’s late President Hugo Chavez decorates a wall outside a polling station find compromises and make decisions on the difficult
where voters wait to enter during congressional elections in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, Dec. issues without undermining the ambition” of the cli-
6, 2015. The system built by Chavez faces its gravest electoral test as voters cast ballots in what mate pact.
seems to have become a tightening race for control of the national legislature. Many disagreements remain, almost all related to
defining the obligations and expectations of rich and
(AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) poor countries, as well as those who don’t fit neatly
into either category. The draft had multiple options
favor the opposition, were ing in line to vote. ing-class neighborhood of on that issue — everything from who should pay for
spared the early morning Government opponents Caracas. “I’ve said we’ll a global transition to clean energy to what hap-
cacophony, but many mobbed some voting sta- take the fight to the streets, pens to countries that miss their targets to fight cli-
headed to the polls at the tions demanding that the but maybe I was wrong. mate change.
crack of dawn anyway, National Guard stick to the We can’t go where we’ve One of the most radical proposals called for an “in-
anxious to cast their bal- original schedule of closing always been.” Electoral ternational tribunal of climate justice” to deal with
lots early in case violence at 6 p.m. authorities extended vot- wealthy countries that don’t fulfill their commitments.
should break out later in They chanted, “Soldiers, ing hours for an additional Rich nations are certain to reject that idea.
the day. protect your country!” as hour amid heavy turnout. “We would have wished to be further along than we
“I’m voting for the oppo- young men with heavy Under Venezuelan law, are at this point, but the text being forwarded so far
sition and then I’m going weapons looked on. polls must remain open as reflects our key priorities,” said Maldives delegate
home to read newspapers A grandmother physically long as voters are in line Thoriq Ibrahim, who chairs an alliance of small island
all day,” said Nora Beatriz, blocked one polling cen- waiting to cast ballots. nations on the front lines of climate change.
78. “You can’t believe the ter entrance in downtown Until recently, the opposi- Although 184 countries have already submitted na-
level of hate there is here Caracas. tion was seen as coasting tional plans to reduce climate-warming greenhouse
now. You say you don’t The law says a polling sta- to its first major electoral gas emissions, how to anchor those pledges in a le-
like the socialists and you tion has to stay open if victory since Chavez be- gally binding deal remains to be worked out.
get screamed at, yelled people are waiting to vote, came president in 1998, Chief Chinese negotiator Su Wei told reporters Satur-
at, and who knows what but no one was standing with Venezuelans tired of day that “all the provisions, starting from the pream-
else.” in line outside that ballot- rampant crime, routine ble to the final clauses, would be legally binding.”
As voting wound down, ing center. Soldiers closed shortages of basic goods That contrasts with the U.S. position, which is for some
several ruling party gover- that center before the one and inflation pushing well parts to be legally binding, but not countries’ pledges
nors were caught on film hour extension was up at 7 into triple digits. The eco- to limit the greenhouse gas emissions. Binding emis-
braving boos and insults as p.m. nomic crisis has worsened sions cuts would likely require the Obama administra-
they entered their polling More than 163,000 police with this year’s slump in oil tion to send the deal to the Republican-controlled
places, including Chavez’s and troops were deployed revenue, which funds al- Congress, where it would likely be struck down.
brother Adan. Electoral around the country ahead most all public spending.q After the news conference, Su indicated the issue was
still up for negotiation.
“We have to further discuss ... try to find some proper
solution,” he said.
Jake Schmidt of the Natural Resource Defense Coun-
cil, a New York-based environmental group, said the
issue could be resolved by avoiding words like “shall”
in key paragraphs about emissions targets.
The Paris accord is meant to be a turning point in the
world’s efforts to fight climate change. Since they
started in 1992, the U.N. talks have not been able to
stop the rise in emissions, mostly from the burning of
fossil fuels, blamed for warming the planet.
Previous agreements only required rich countries to
reduce their emissions. The new agreement would
apply to all countries, but many developing nations
are resisting language that would indicate a shift in
responsibilities.q