2013-04-27 18:49:27

Political instability threatens Venezuela


(Vatican Radio) Venezuela is lurching towards post Presidential Election instability, with the main opposition Candidate challenging the result, which was a very close call.

Opposition Coalition Leader Henrique Capriles initially accepted the Presidential victory of Hugo Chavez's hand-picked successor Nicolas Maduro. But now he wants the razor thin election result scrapped. Maduro won by less than two per cent of the vote.

The Electoral Commission has agreed to audit 46 per cent of the votes, in a month long process, but it's insisting the original result stands. Capriles says the process is a joke and he won't be part of it any longer.

In the increasingly tense atmosphere the Government has launched an investigation into Capriles. Nicolas Maduro, who has been inaugurated President, is warning against sabotage of Venezuela's creaking electricity grid. And a US film maker has been arrested at Caracas Airport, accused of espionage.

Listen to James Blears’ report: RealAudioMP3








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