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Venezuelan Exposes Chavez's False Claim of Fraud on Recall Petition NewsMax WiresCARACAS, Venezuela – A man President Hugo Chavez claimed was dead begs to differ with the Venezuelan leader. "I'm not dead. I'm alive and kicking," 61-year-old Emiliano Chavez Rosales said in comments published Monday by El Universal newspaper. Chavez Rosales said he signed a petition for a vote to recall the president, who alleged the signature was bogus during a speech to foreign ambassadors on Friday. "I'm sure Emiliano Chavez doesn't exist," the president said, holding up a copy of the petition form. He pointed to an identification number accompanying the signature, No. 2,550,083, and claimed it belonged to a dead woman. In local interviews, Chavez Rosales insisted the number was his. A search of the country's voter database turned up Chavez Rosales' name and the same number. There was no immediate comment from the government. The form was one of several Chavez offered as evidence of fraud. Others, he said, bore the names of foreigners and minors. Venezuela's opposition turned in more than 3 million signatures Dec. 19, well above the 2.4 million needed for a recall referendum. The National Elections Council ruled last week that only 1.8 million were valid. The council rejected more than 140,000 outright and ordered more than 1 million citizens to confirm they signed, most because they allegedly violated procedural rules when completing the petition forms. The decision set off violent protests last week that killed at least eight people. Rioting subsided after international observers pledged to help find a way for citizens to confirm they signed.
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