Maduro sworn in, Venezuela to review disputed vote

By Daniel Wallis and Brian Ellsworth

CARACAS (Reuters) - Nicolas Maduro was sworn in as Venezuela's president on Friday at a ceremony attended by leaders from Iran to Brazil after a decision to widen an electronic audit of the vote took some of the heat out of a dispute over his election.

Maduro, a bus driver-turned-foreign minister who became the late Hugo Chavez's chosen successor, narrowly beat opposition challenger Henrique Capriles in the election last Sunday.

Capriles refused to accept the result, alleged widespread irregularities, demanded a full recount and called his supporters onto the streets in protest.

Eight people were killed in post-election violence and Maduro blamed the deaths on Capriles, although the opposition says Maduro allies staged some incidents to distract attention from the dispute over balloting.

Maduro took the oath of office on Friday alongside a large framed photo of the socialist Chavez, who led Venezuela for 14 years before losing a battle against cancer last month.

"I swear, on the eternal legacy of our founding fathers ... on the eternal memory of our supreme commander, that I will uphold this constitution," Maduro said.

In an embarrassing breach of security, a young man in a red jacket ran up to the podium, pushed the president out of the way and shouted "Nicolas, my name is Yendrick, please help me," into the microphone. He was tackled by bodyguards.

"Security has failed completely. They could have shot me up here," said Maduro upon resuming his speech.

Overnight, the 50-year-old Maduro attended a last-minute meeting of South American leaders in Peru to discuss the post-election crisis. They congratulated him on his victory, and called on both sides to reject violence.

While he was in Lima, Venezuela's electoral authority said it would widen to 100 percent an audit of electronic votes from a previous audit that reviewed 54 percent of the machines.

"We do this in order to preserve a climate of harmony ... and isolate violent sectors that are seeking to injure democracy," Tibisay Lucena, president of the National Electoral Council (CNE), said in a televised speech to the nation.

Venezuelans vote electronically, but the machines also print out paper receipts of each vote that are kept in boxes. The audit involves counting the paper ballots at some stations to ensure they are consistent with the machine-tallied results.

OPPOSITION PROTESTS

Capriles, who insists the opposition's figures show he won, accepted the CNE's decision although it fell short of the full manual recount he had wanted.

Even so, opposition legislators boycotted Maduro's inauguration. Capriles urged supporters to play salsa music and bang pots and pans to protest the event, following similar protests since the night of the election.

"Let's hear that salsa all over Venezuela! The voice of the people! This is a 'for now' government," Capriles tweeted.

In upscale eastern Caracas, the sound of celebratory fireworks drowned out more muted opposition protests.

The date for the start of the wider audit is to be announced next week. It is expected to take 30 days.

The CNE's decision considerably eased tensions after days of violence and angry allegations by both sides that their rivals were sending armed thugs into the streets to terrorize people.

The heads of state attending Maduro's inauguration included Brazil's Dilma Rousseff and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, along with leaders of Chavez-era allies such as Bolivia, Uruguay and Nicaragua.

Ahmadinejad paid tribute to "the spirit and the soul of Commander Chavez, who had only love for all the peoples of the world" in comments to state television as he arrived at Congress, where the inauguration was held.

Russia and China, both partners in major oil projects in Venezuela's vast Orinoco belt region, sent delegations headed by senior officials.

MILITARY PARADE

The ceremony at the National Assembly was to be followed by a military parade. Jets making practice runs have soared over the capital repeatedly this week.

Thousands of government sympathizers surrounded Congress in downtown Caracas, dancing to upbeat music and clad in the Socialist Party's signature red T-shirts.

Vendors peddled trinkets including foam mustaches that Maduro supporters tape to their upper lips in imitation of his facial hair.

"The streets out ours; we've come to defend them from the right wing," said Carlos Poveda, 45, a merchant.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez said on Twitter that on Saturday morning she planned to visit the military museum in Caracas where her friend Chavez is buried.

"I want to be there a bit more alone, without so many people, without so much noise," she said. "To Caracas, without Hugo. It's going to be difficult and strange at the same time. His funerals were so impressive it was like I was in a daze."

The unrest in Venezuela, just weeks after Chavez's death from cancer, has exposed the deep polarization of a country split down the middle between pro- and anti-government factions.

Maduro's administration accuses "fascist" Capriles supporters of going on a rampage, shooting people, attacking offices belonging to the ruling Socialist Party, and setting fire to government-run clinics staffed by Cuban doctors.

Prominent Venezuelan human rights group Provea said on Thursday it had been unable to find any evidence that the clinics, known as CDIs, were torched by opposition demonstrators. The organization slammed state media for adding to tensions by publishing unconfirmed accusations.

Capriles, who has repeatedly called on his supporters to behave peacefully, has said the government was to blame for any violence because of its refusal to hold a recount.

"I asked for reports from all the country's municipalities about incidents at CDIs," he said on Twitter. "None were affected. Only sick minds would do something like this!"

(Additional reporting by Mario Naranjo and Girish Gupta; Editing by Philip Barbara and Eric Wals)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/intruder-briefly-stops-maduros-swearing-speech-venezuela-191028884.html

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