Venezuela set for 'critical' vote
Monday, 24 November 2008
Venezuelans are set to vote in local elections to choose new state governors and over 300 mayors across the country, reports BBC.
The polls are being seen as a critical test for President Hugo Chavez, whose allies won in all but two of the country's 23 states in 2004.
Last year Mr Chavez suffered his first electoral defeat in almost ten years, losing a referendum that would have let presidents seek indefinite re-election.
Mr Chavez enjoys popular support for spending oil wealth on schools, clinics and subsidised food, but needs a resounding win to silence his critics, says the BBC's Will Grant in Caracas.
The polls are being seen as a critical test for President Hugo Chavez, whose allies won in all but two of the country's 23 states in 2004.
Last year Mr Chavez suffered his first electoral defeat in almost ten years, losing a referendum that would have let presidents seek indefinite re-election.
Mr Chavez enjoys popular support for spending oil wealth on schools, clinics and subsidised food, but needs a resounding win to silence his critics, says the BBC's Will Grant in Caracas.