Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Scoop Link: Polling Firm's False Venezuela Results
SCOOP LINK:FOCUS:
U.S. Poll Firm in Hot Water in Venezuela
The
Associated Press
Thursday 19 August 2004
CARACAS, Venezuela Aug. 19, 2004 — A U.S. firm's exit poll that said President Hugo Chavez would lose a recall referendum has landed in the center of a controversy following his resounding victory.
"Exit Poll Results Show Major Defeat for Chavez," the survey, conducted by Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, asserted even as Sunday's voting was still on. But in fact, the opposite was true Chavez ended up trouncing his enemies and capturing 59 percent of the vote.
Any casual observer of the 2000 U.S. presidential elections knows exit polls can at times be unreliable. But the poll has become an issue here because the opposition, which mounted the drive to force the leftist leader from office, insists it shows the results from the vote itself were fraudulent. The opposition also claims electronic voting machines were rigged, but has provided no evidence.
Election officials banned publication or broadcast of any exit polls during the historic vote on whether to oust Chavez, a populist who has sought to help the poor and is reviled by the wealthy, who accuse him of stoking class divisions.
See full article here:
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/082004W.shtml
Scoop
Scoop Independent News
Scoop is NZ's largest independent news source; respected widely in media, political, business and academic circles for being the place on the internet for publishing "what was really said", and for the quality of its analysis of issues.
Gordon Campbell: On Iran Killing Its Rappers, And Searching For The Invisible Dr. Reti
Peter Dunne: MPs Unusually Quiet On Pay Rise
Ian Powell: Cuba And New Zealand: A Relationship Worthy Of Strengthening
Gordon Campbell: On bird flu, AUKUS entry fees and Cindy Lee
Binoy Kampmark: Israel’s Anti-UNRWA Campaign Falls Flat
Peter Dunne: Luxon Gets Out His Butcher's Knife - Briefly