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Polls close in Venezuela election | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Polls are closing in Venezuela where people have voted in a presidential poll offering starkly contrasting visions of the country's future course. | |
Hugo Chavez, the left-wing incumbent and outspoken critic of the US, has been is seeking a new six-year term to complete his socialist revolution. | |
His main challenger, Manuel Rosales, wants to keep a market-based system. | His main challenger, Manuel Rosales, wants to keep a market-based system. |
Mr Chavez has won support from millions of poor Venezuelans by using oil wealth to boost social programmes. | Mr Chavez has won support from millions of poor Venezuelans by using oil wealth to boost social programmes. |
He has been widely predicted to win the vote, but Mr Rosales has been gaining in popularity and leads an opposition that seems more united than it did a year ago. | |
Army guard | Army guard |
It will take some hours for the voting to wind up as the law requires polling stations to stay open until the last person in the queue has voted. | |
They were due to close at 2000 GMT, but voting was being extended because people were still outside polling stations. | |
Vote in pictures Q&A: Venezuela votes | |
Whoever wins the election will have to try to unite a deeply divided country or face much political instability, the BBC's Greg Morsbach reports from Caracas. | Whoever wins the election will have to try to unite a deeply divided country or face much political instability, the BBC's Greg Morsbach reports from Caracas. |
Throughout the day there were long queues outside polling stations, many of which had army reservists protecting the electronic voting machines and booths from possible interference. | |
Hundreds of international election observers are in Venezuela, including from the European Union and the Organisation of American States. | Hundreds of international election observers are in Venezuela, including from the European Union and the Organisation of American States. |
Supporters of both Mr Chavez and Mr Rosales were also watching polling centres and are due to participate in a post-poll audit of more than half of the ballot boxes. | |
'Last chance' | 'Last chance' |
Venezuela's 16 million voters have been deciding whether Mr Chavez should be rewarded with another term in office. | |
Mr Chavez, who rose to power in 1999 amid widespread disenchantment with the old political order, has promised to consolidate what he calls his "social revolution". | Mr Chavez, who rose to power in 1999 amid widespread disenchantment with the old political order, has promised to consolidate what he calls his "social revolution". |
He knows what it is to be poor. He suffered it as a boy, and that's why he understands us and tries to help us Rosa Gonzalez Chavez supporter href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?threadID=4851&edition=2&ttl=20061127163337" class="">Your comments He has garnered support by using the boom in oil revenues to redistribute wealth to the poor. | |
"Chavez was sent here by God," Rosa Gonzalez, 41, told the Associated Press news agency. | "Chavez was sent here by God," Rosa Gonzalez, 41, told the Associated Press news agency. |
"He knows what it is to be poor. He suffered it as a boy, and that's why he understands us and tries to help us," she said. | "He knows what it is to be poor. He suffered it as a boy, and that's why he understands us and tries to help us," she said. |
However, Margarita Nunez, a 23-year-old student, told AP she feared the radical plans that Mr Chavez may have in mind. | However, Margarita Nunez, a 23-year-old student, told AP she feared the radical plans that Mr Chavez may have in mind. |
"This is our last chance," she said ahead of the vote. "This is the last time we can stop him from ruining this country." | |
Mr Chavez's critics accuse him of concentrating power in his own hands and squandering Venezuela's oil wealth. | Mr Chavez's critics accuse him of concentrating power in his own hands and squandering Venezuela's oil wealth. |
Mr Rosales, governor of the oil-rich western state of Zulia, says Venezuela's long-term interests lie in free-market policies and attracting foreign investment. | Mr Rosales, governor of the oil-rich western state of Zulia, says Venezuela's long-term interests lie in free-market policies and attracting foreign investment. |
He has pledged to roll back policies which, he says, are leading the country towards a Cuban-style communist system. | He has pledged to roll back policies which, he says, are leading the country towards a Cuban-style communist system. |