In 2004, Venezuela held a recall referendum on August 15 to determine whether President Hugo Chávez should be removed from office. The result was a decisive "no" vote, with 59% of voters choosing to keep Chávez in power, despite allegations of fraud from the opposition.
The opposition Coordinadora Democrática declared that fraud had taken place and published a preliminary report supporting the conclusions.[1] The Carter Center, the electoral observers and other analysts denied fraud, saying the referendum was performed in a free and fair manner.. The Carter Center released a paper and statistical analysis at the request of the NGO Súmate to evaluate a study by Ricardo Hausmann and Roberto Rigobon, reaffirming the center's original conclusions. Statistical evaluations published in 2006 and 2011 have argued that fraud was committed, but this is contested by organizations that observed the election, such as the Carter Center.