MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chavez blames “Mr. Danger” for election boycott

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez blamed United States president George W. Bush for the opposition boycott to this Sunday's congressional election describing the situation as a new US conspiracy against his government.

"I call upon the world and denounce the chief of the empire Mr. Danger, President Bush, as responsible for the plot against Venezuela", blasted Mr. Chavez in a national address.

But "once again we will battle them, and defeat this electoral coup", said Chávez who revealed he has evidence that the CIA is operating in Venezuela and "encouraging the conspirators".

The opposition boycott to Sunday's election opens the way for the consolidation of Chavez and his allies' power in Congress. The ruling party and associates are forecasted to win over two thirds of the 167 seats which will enable Mr. Chavez to introduce reforms to the Constitution most probably regarding his mandate.

"Chavistas" currently control 52% of Congressional seats.

Most of the main opposition parties will be absent from the ballot papers claiming the National Electoral Council (CNE) is biased towards parties close to Mr Chavez and that the results will therefore be rigged.

President Chavez went on national television following a march by his followers in downtown Caracas to protest the pull out of the main opposition parties, which was described as a "desperate" action given their loss of political control.

"They are leaving because they feel defeated. They know they are politically dead", said Rafael Madero one of the coordinators of the march.

Analysts have forecasted for months that the government's candidates will obtain a landslide victory mainly because of the strong standing of President Chavez.

An October public opinion poll from Datanalisis, revealed that President Chavez performance had a 68% support and 46% would vote for him if elections had been held at that moment, said Vicente León, head of the pollster.

The poll interviewed 1.300 people in urban Venezuela with a 2,7% plus/minus margin.

Leaders of Chavez party, Fifth Republic Movement, MVR have indicated they expect to reform the Constitution extending the presidential mandate so that Mr. Chavez can rule beyond 2012.

"The prevailing criteria inside MVR is that the mandates for president, governors, mayors, councilors, Congress members and any elected post can be repeated several times", said William Lara, MVR Lower House leader.

"This will help strengthen democracy and not Mr. Chavez in particular", he added although he admitted that the "opposition will try to disfigure the debate arguing we want to eternalize Hugo Chavez as president".

However what privately really worries hardened "Chavistas", Chavez supporters, is that the abstention rate could be so high that the international spotlight could fall on the election process in Venezuela and that the results could be called into question around the world.

"71% of voters will stay away on Sunday according to a poll we commissioned this week" said Eleazar Diaz Rangel, editor-in-chief of Ultimas Noticias newspaper and friend of Mr Chavez. "A 50-60% abstention rate is OK but anything above that is in dangerous territory.