The Hindu : International : Close outcome expected in Venezuela vote

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Aug 16, 2004

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International

Close outcome expected in Venezuela vote

CARACAS (VENEZUELA), AUG. 15. Voters across Venezuela turned out in huge numbers on Sunday to decide whether to keep the populist President, Hugo Chavez, in power or oust him in a referendum that capped more than two years of bloody political upheaval.

Activists on both sides detonated huge firecrackers and played recorded bugle songs to wake voters hours before dawn. Lines snaked for many blocks in polling stations in upscale anti-Chavez neighbourhoods and in slums where the President maintains a loyal following.

``Today we're going to have a wonderful day,'' beamed Jose Eduardo Lopez, a 58-year-old taxi driver, as he stood in line in a hillside slum overlooking downtown Caracas. ``Chavez will not only get enough votes to win, but will have enough to share. It will be a knockout.''

Across town, thousands lined up to vote in the upscale La Castellana neighbourhood, where the sentiment was clearly anti-Chavez. Critics fear the President, who has centralised power, plans to install a Cuban-style dictatorship. Recent polls have showed neither side holding a convincing lead, and many are expecting a close outcome. — AP

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