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| Venezuela poll is seen as crucial fight between Incumbent President Hugo Chavez (left) and his rival Henrique Capriles (right) [gfx© news.BDTV.in] |
Caracas: Even if the opinion polls have suggested
that incumbent president Hugo Chavez will be re-elected with reduced majority,
voters in Venezuela will get a chance to cast their votes as polls open on
Sunday, they will decide the fate of the nation situated in the northern coast
of South America.
Venezuelans election is predicted what to
be the country’s crucial contested presidential election in a decade.
First elected in 1998, left wing politician
Hugo Chavez is being challenged by opposition leader Henrique Capriles for whom
the recent opinion poll has suggested that he has a genuine chance of winning.
With Venezuela sitting on the
world's largest oil reserves and Chávez a leading figure in the resurgence of
the political left in Latin America, the vote will have an impact on the global
economy, energy supplies and regional geopolitics.
If Chavez wins a new
six-year term, he gets a free hand to push for an even bigger state role in the
economy, further limit dissent and continue to befriend rivals of the United
States.
If Capriles manage to
win, a radical foreign policy shift can be expected along with an eventual
loosening of state economic controls and an increase in private investment.
About 19 million Venezuelans are eligible to vote in the election and
almost all are in the ambiguity what
might happen if the disputes erupt over the election’s announced outcome.
Chavez - who is seeking a fourth term in
office, was diagnosed with cancer last year held an impromptu news
conference on Saturday night, and when asked about the possibility of disputes
over the vote, he said he expected both sides to accept the result.
Mr Capriles says a lack of investment in
Venezuela's crucial oil industry has led to a decline in production.
Both candidates have
been using social media to urge voters to cast their ballots.
Almost 140,000
soldiers will be deployed to guard more than 10,000 voting centres.
The sale of alcohol is
banned from Saturday evening to Monday evening, and only the security forces
will be allowed to carry arms.
National Electoral
Council (NEC) official Socorro Hernandez called on all parties and
non-governmental groups to contribute to a peaceful election "and avoid
any distortions".
Polls are scheduled to
close at 18:00 local time (22:30 GMT), NEC President Tibisay Lucena has uttered
that the hours could be extended if voters were still queuing to cast their
ballots.