Venezuelans vote in tightly contested presidential polls

PanARMENIAN.Net - Voters in Venezuela are going to the polls in what is predicted to be the country's most tightly contested presidential election in a decade, BBC News reported.

Left-wing incumbent Hugo Chavez, first elected in 1998, is being challenged by opposition leader Henrique Capriles.

Mr Chavez wants to continue what he calls his socialist revolution while Mr Capriles has promised to restore economic growth.

Almost 19 million Venezuelans are eligible to vote in the election.

Mr Chavez - who is seeking a fourth term in office - was diagnosed with cancer last year but says he has now fully recovered.

A colourful and often controversial figure on the international stage, President Chavez, 58, has nationalised key sectors of the economy.

Venezuela is a major oil producer and high oil prices over the past decade have allowed his government to fund health-care, education programmes and social housing.

He says he needs another term to complete his "Bolivarian Revolution" towards socialism.

However, Mr Capriles, 40, and the opposition say the president's policies have led to bureaucracy, inefficiency and shortages.

They also accuse Mr Chavez of authoritarianism, and of suppressing the judiciary and silencing critics in the media.

Mr Capriles says a lack of investment in Venezuela's crucial oil industry has led to a decline in production.

Both candidates held huge final rallies on the last day of campaigning. The two candidates have also used social media to encourage voters to cast their ballots.

Almost 140,000 soldiers will be deployed to guard more than 10,000 voting centres.

A week before the election, three opposition activists were killed during a campaign rally, and four people were injured in a shooting during a voting rehearsal in September.