First Official Bulletin: Sí 54.4%, No 45.6%
At 9:30 pm, the National Elections Council says:
Sí – 6,003,594
No – 5,040,082
With 94.2% of tally sheets accounted for.
It’s really not a surprise. If you control the question, you control the answer.
Chavismo’s real problems start tomorrow.
Epilogue from Our Man in Catia:
We’re leaving the polling center. Tibi gave the results and Chavez is shouting the national anthem on the radio. Everyone is in a commotion because a motorcyclist has just been shot in the head and killed near this polling station. His name was Ismael and it seems many people knew him. Before I left, I told one of the Chavista, member of the mesa, that I was afraid that today we gave a blank check and too much power to a single guy, and that they day they wanted to change presidents it could be too late. Her reply: “el pueblo es sabio y paciente, nosotros sabremos pasar factura”. I sure hope so.
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