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# Vi. 12 Apr 73 VENEZUBLAHISTORY OF VUTINI MACHINE ISSUE RRCOUNTDCaracas Radio Continente Network in Spanish 0300 GMT 11 Apr 73 P[Text] The president of the Supreme Electoral Council, Luis A. Pietri, has denied the charges made regarding the collection of nommissions on the sale of voting machines. Just as this station has reported, Piotri has ordered a thorough investigation in order to establish responsibilities. The armoungemant was made by Pietri during a press non-feronce hold tonight at the headquarters of the Supreme Council. Speaking for himself. Piotri #aid that he would have filed suit against those implicated in the commissions deal. Ho said that he would have started the suit if he had known which persons were involved in the affair.The statement made by Antonio Espinoza Prieto regarding a supposed reduction in the contract for the purchase of the voting machines is completely false, said the comptroller goneral, Mamuel Viconte Ledesma. The report was published in local newspapers. Accord-frig to the papers Antonio Bspinosa Prieto said that Mr Dixon, former president of the Automatic Voting Machines (AVN) Comparty, had come to Venezuela to negotiate a reduction in the price of the contract. (Words indistinct) Prieto said that the reduction was in the nature of $3,050,000, but the comptroller general of the republic denied the infor-mation bocause his office never had any knowledge of Prieto's assertion.The affairs of the collection of commissions on the purchase of voting machines has turned into a real scandal. It will be recalled that the proposal to purchase the voting machines in the first place was a sensation. On that occasion the representatives of the various parties represented in the Suprema Bloctoral Council were divided. The Opposition insisted that machines had to be used in the next elections because the lava specified this. The Social Christian Party (COPBI), the Democratic National Front (PHD) and an independent party were opposed to the purchase because it meant a disbursement of millions of bolivares. Subsequently the matter was submitted to a vote and the opposition parties won.Contacts were begin with the machine supplier and more disagreements arose. The oppo-sition wanted to purchase the machines from AVM, while COPEI and AND wanted to purchase them from another company. The opposition won again because it was in the majority and it was decided that AVM would supply the molinos. Tuo U.3. representatives arrived: the owners, the salesmu, and the comalsalon agents of the company. The contract was drafted and it specified that Venerula mould not pay more than 1 peruent of the total transaction in commissions. The transaction was for 180 million bolivares.At this stage a ghost appeared to pursue the AVM in the United States in the form of the Klection Systoms Company, which sued the AVM, alleging that the AVM negotiated directly in Venezuela without going through the Elections Systems Company. The latter demnanted its commission and last week won the suit. This is how the scandal broke: The AVM said that it could not pay commissiors to the Election Systems Company because these commissions had been paid directly to Venezuolan politicians. The AVM defended itself and its representatives said at the trial what they had to say, which is precise-ly what Pedro Segnini La Cruz told this papers today. The People's Electoral Movement [MPE) was accused of having received $40 par machine which, multiplied by 10,000, amounts to $400,000, or 1.8 million bolivares.