Venezuelan president rebuffs poll    • The Guardian, The
Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, has refused to accept
opposition signatures calling for a referendum on his leftist
rule, even if the new national electoral council says they are
legitimate.  "We have proof they committed fraud. They
transcribed signatures from some of their banks or there are
signatures of dead people," Mr Chavez said after meeting his
ideological ally, Cuba's President Fidel Castro at a UN
conference in Havana, casting doubt on a referendum to resolve a
festering feud in the world's fifth largest oil exporting
country. Mr Chavez said his government would appeal against a
council decision validating more than 3 million signatures
presented on August 20 by his opponents, who are seeking to oust
him in a mid-term recall ballot.  Under Venezuela's
constitution, drafted by his supporters after he gained office
in 1998, a referendum can be called with the backing of 20% of
the electorate, or 2.4 million signatures. The council faces the