President Hugo Chavez won re-election on Sunday, defeating challenger Henrique Capriles, Venezuela's electoral council said. With most votes counted, Chavez had more than 54% of the vote, and Capriles had 45%, National Electoral Council President Tibisay Lucena said. Turnout was 81% of the nearly 19 million registered voters.
Many Cubans are anxious about the results of Venezuela’ presidential election next Sunday and are praying for an Hugo Chavez victory since they are fearful of another collapse of the island’s economy if the winner is opposition candidate Henrique Capriles.
Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles pledged to help Colombia in its peace talks with rebels and distance himself from Iran should he defeat President Hugo Chávez in an increasingly tight race ahead of Sunday's election.
More than 100.000 people gathered in Caracas in support of Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles. He criticised President Hugo Chavez for what he called a long list of unfulfilled promises and demanded justice for three opposition activists killed during a rally in Barinas state on Saturday.
Venezuela’s Bolivarian Armed Forces, FANB, said they are committed to respect “the decision of the people” in the coming presidential election of 7 October but at the same time demanded respect for the institution.
China has “no intention of influencing” the coming Venezuelan elections said a Foreign ministry spokesperson in Beijing following allegations from opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles that recent economic agreements signed between Beijing and Caracas are part of that strategy.
The mission from Unasur (Union of South American Nations) that will be acting as ‘accompanying observer’ in the coming presidential elections in Venezuela, 7 October, and the only organization allowed to fulfil that task, said that the Venezuelan electoral process is one of the “most trustworthy and reliable”.
With less than three weeks for the “mother of all political battles” in Venezuela but that will have repercussions in the rest of the continent, the latest public opinion polls are indicating that opposition candidate Henrique Capriles is leading with 52% vote intention while Hugo Chavez has 48%.
Venezuela's opposition candidate Henrique Capriles slammed President Hugo Chavez on Monday for blocking a live broadcast of an opposition rally, highlighting criticism the populist leader abuses state resources to guarantee his re-election.
Brazil said it is confident that the electoral process in Venezuela, where Chavez is bidding for another six years will be “credible and transparent”. Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota made the statement in an interview published on Sunday by O Estado de Sao Paulo.