Venezuelans head to polls in tense day for Chavez
Polls are opening Sunday in Venezuela’s parliamentary election. President Hugo Chavez is expected to keep control of the National Assembly, in a poll that is seen as a test of his popularity ahead of a presidential ballot in 2012.
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Opposition parties are certain to make big gains, after boycotting the last legislative election five years ago.
“They recognise now this was a big mistake,” says Latin America analyst Colin Harding. “They just gave Chavez a free run and they’re determined not to make that mistake again.”
Colin Harding, Oxford Analytica
The opposition needs to win more than a third of parliamentary seats in order to force Chavez to look to his foes to enforce major changes to laws.
For the past five years, Chavez allies have held a powerful majority in parliament, allowing Chavez to move forward his programme of nationalizing Venezuelan and foreign companies in several sectors, including mining and hydrocarbons.
The opposition has united under the umbrella Table for Democratic Unity. They point out that Venezuela has one of the world's highest murder rates and is experiencing record inflation.
About 17.6 million people are eligible to elect 165 new members of parliament.
Polls suggest the vote will be tight, perhaps giving a slight lead to the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela, which is likely to benefit from recent changes to voting districts.
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