Venezuela opposition vote
February 13, 2012
Henrique Capriles, the youthful governor of the Venezuelan state of Miranda, was announced late on Sunday as the opposition's choice to take on controversial President Hugo Chavez.
Five candidates were running in the contest organized by opposition groups that have united under the banner of the Democratic Unity coalition. Capriles won 1.8 million votes of the 2.9 million votes cast, the coalition announced.
Electoral commission president Teresa Albanes described turnout levels - seen as of particular importance in the poll - as "significant." With some 18 million people registered to vote, analysts have said that a turnout of 10 percent would be a good indicator for the opposition.
"Let no one leave without voting," Capriles had said after he cast his ballot at a polling station in Caracas. "Today ... we will exceed all expectations in terms of voter participation."
Seeking a third term
57-year-old Chavez - a regular critic of United States government policy - is seeking a third six-year term in the October 7 vote. He faces criticism amid rising crime and corruption as well as a drop in oil prices. Venezuela is South America's leading oil exporter.
Chavez, a left-wing ally of Cuba, has been criticized for jailing opponents and restricting media opposition. Despite belonging to the center-right Primero Justicia party, Capriles, 39, describes himself as center-left and points to Brazil as a regional model where economic development has been effectively married with social progress.
Capriles' closest rival in the ballot has been Perez of the New Era party, the governor of Venezuela's most populous and wealthiest state, Zula. Both men have avoided of directly criticizing Chavez - who remains popular with large swathes of the population. Each has pledged to fight poverty and retain popular government health and housing programs.
A unity document drawn up by the opposition in January calls for a more free market approach to the economy and the reassessment of Chavez's creation of a socialist state.
rc/ng (AP, AFP, Reuters)