Chavez Opponents Say Venezuela Election Isn't Democratic

October 05, 2012 from Voice of America

Sunday's election in Venezuela is just days away, and opinion polls are predicting a close race between President Hugo Chavez and his more US-friendly opponent Henrique Capriles. VOA's Brian Padden reports from Caracas that while the opposition is guardedly optimistic, critics charge the process has not been fair and that Chavez has abused his power as president to gain political advantage, punish opponents, and intimidate voters -- allegations Chavez's supporters deny.

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Venezuelan presidential election, 2012

The Venezuelan presidential election of 2012 was held on 7 October 2012 to choose a president for the six-year term beginning February 2013. After the approval of the Ammandment No. 1 of the Constitution of Venezuela in 2009, which abolished term limits; incumbent Hugo Chávez,... Explore this topic

Hugo Chávez

Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías was a Venezuelan politician who was the President of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when it merged with several other parties to form the Un... Explore this topic

Henrique Capriles Radonski

Henrique Capriles Radonski is a Venezuelan politician and lawyer. From 2000 until 2008, Capriles was the mayor of Baruta Municipality of Caracas. In November 2008, Capriles was elected Governor of Miranda, defeating Diosdado Cabello. After winning the election primaries in Feb... Explore this topic

Venezuela

Venezuela, officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America. Venezuela's territory covers around 916,445 square kilometres with an estimated population of 29,105,632. Venezuela is considered a state with extremely high... Explore this topic

Diego Arria

Diego Enrique Arria Salicetti, doctor of economics, is a Venezuelan politician, diplomat, former Venezuelan Permanent Representative of Venezuela to the United Nations and President of the Security Council. He was Governor of the Federal District of Caracas in the mid-1970s. O... Explore this topic

María Corina Machado

María Corina Machado Parisca is a founder, former vice president, and former president of the Venezuelan volunteer civil organization Súmate, along with Alejandro Plaz. Machado was charged with conspiracy for funds Súmate received from the National Endowment for Democracy, tri... Explore this topic

Politics of Venezuela

The politics of Venezuela occurs in a framework explained in Government of Venezuela. Venezuela has a multi-party system, with numerous parties. The governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela (Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela, PSUV) was created in 2007, uniting a numbe... Explore this topic

Caracas

Caracas, officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English. Caracas is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuel... Explore this topic

RCTV

Radio Caracas Televisión Internacional is a Venezuelan cable television network headquartered in the Caracas neighborhood of Quinta Crespo. It was sometimes referred to as the Canal de Bárcenas. Owned by Empresas 1BC, RCTV Internacional was inaugurated as Radio Caracas Televis... Explore this topic

Political campaign

A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, wherein representatives are chosen or referendums are decided. In modern politics, ... Explore this topic

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Venezuelan presidential election, 2012

Hugo Chávez

Henrique Capriles Radonski

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