Venezuelans vote Sunday in the toughest election President Hugo Chavez has faced in almost 14 years in power after fresh-faced rival Henrique Capriles electrified the country’s opposition.
Venezuelans vote Sunday in the toughest election President Hugo Chavez has faced in almost 14 years in power after fresh-faced rival Henrique Capriles electrified the country's opposition, Agence France Presse news agency reported.
Chavez, 58, retains a loyal following among the country's poor, who have propelled him to easy victories in past elections, but 40-year-old Capriles has narrowed the gap in opinion polls after an energetic door-to-door national campaign.
Chavez, a fierce US critic, is a highly polarizing figure who survived a coup in 2002 and became popular with the long-neglected poor for using the country's vast oil wealth to fund health and education programs.
Mentored by Cuba's Fidel Castro, Chavez has become the leading voice of Latin America's left, railing against the US "empire". He also has used petro-dollars and cut-rate oil deals to build a network of diplomatic allies around the region.
Facing his biggest election challenge, Chavez has admitted making mistakes, vowing to "become a better president" if re-elected.
Capriles, who describes himself as David fighting Goliath, was picked by the opposition in an unprecedented primary election in February.
Venezuelans were urged on Saturday to cast their ballots in the upcoming presidential election to determine the course of the country.
"On Sunday it will be up to each person's conscience, but the next day we will all be just Venezuelans," Pablo Perez, governor of Venezuela's most populous Zulia state, said in a televised speech.
Some 19 million Venezuelan voters will go to the polls on Sunday, after latest poll gave Chavez 57 percent of voting intentions and Capriles 43 percent.
Election experts say the electronic voting system is fraud-proof, though Chavez charges that the "far right" plans to not recognize his victory if he wins.
Polls open at 6:00 am local time (1030 GMT) and close at 6:00 pm (22:30 GMT), but people will be allowed to vote as long as there are lines.
Sunday's election is a one-round, first-past-the-post system. There are six candidates in total, but only two are considered to have real chance of winning.