Instead of the resounding endorsement they were hoping for in Sunday’s presidential election in Venezuela, allies of the late President Hugo Chávez got a message from the electorate: Enough of Chavismo and the failed policies of “21st Century Socialism.”
The late president’s long-time political crony, interim President Nicolás Maduro, says he edged out opposition leader Henrique Capriles, but Mr. Capriles refuses to concede defeat and reasonably demands a recount.
The very close margin between the candidates, multiple accounts of chicanery in the balloting and vote counting and government control of the electoral machinery lend credence to his doubts.