Venezuelans vote for state governors, while questions about Chavez's health swirl

On the day of elections for 23 state governorships, which could shake up the opposition, Venezuelans seemed more focused on President Hugo Chavez's recovery from a cancer-related operation he underwent in Cuba last week.

By Andrew Cawthorne,?Reuters / December 16, 2012

Venezuelans look for their identification number on lists outside a voting station during regional election in Caracas December 16. Venezuelans vote for state governors on Sunday in an election that will decide if the opposition stays united behind youthful leader Henrique Capriles amid signs that President Hugo Chavez's cancer could force him to step down.

Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters

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Venezuelans vote on Sunday in state elections that will define the future of opposition leader?Henrique Capriles?and test political forces ahead of a possible new presidential vote if?Hugo Chavez?is incapacitated by cancer.

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The vote for 23 state governorships, seven of which are currently controlled by the opposition, has been overshadowed by the president's battle to recover from cancer surgery in?Cuba.

Capriles, 40, needs to hold on to the governorship of Miranda state to remain the opposition's presidential candidate-in-waiting, while both sides will want a good showing to create momentum in case of a new showdown over who replaces Chavez.

"This is the best indication of how well the opposition will fare in an upcoming contest for the presidency between Henrique Capriles and designated Chavez dauphin Vice President Nicolas Maduro," said Russell Dallen ofCaracas-based BBO Financial Services.

Turnout was thin in early voting across the country, in contrast to the long lines for the presidential ballot two months ago, which handed Chavez a third term.

"I'm surprised. In the presidential election I got here at 3 a.m. and there were a lot of people in line. Today I got here at 5 a.m. and I was the first person," said?Nathaly Betancourt, who was voting in the western city of?Punto Fijo.

Opposition sympathizers complained via Twitter that centers in affluent anti-Chavez sectors of?Caracas?that are crucial for Capriles were notably empty.

The South American OPEC nation appears more focused on Chavez's recovery in?Havana?from Tuesday's operation, the socialist leader's fourth since he was diagnosed with cancer in his pelvic region in mid-2011.

Government officials on Saturday night said Chavez had regained full consciousness and was giving instructions. His son-in-law, who serves as Science and Technology Minister, acknowledged there had been "moments of tension" during and after the operation, but said Chavez was steadily improving.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/ckFz6Rw3v68/Venezuelans-vote-for-state-governors-while-questions-about-Chavez-s-health-swirl

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