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Chávez Dominates Venezuelan Campaign
- Hugo Chávez maintains a high level of voter support in Venezuela, according to a poll by Hinterlaces. 55 per cent of respondents would vote for the incumbent president in this year's election.
An unidentified "new candidate" is second with 17 per cent, followed by Zulia governor Manuel Rosales with seven per cent, Julio Andrés Borges of Justice First (PJ) with five per cent, and former planning minister Teodoro Petkoff with three per cent.
Chávez has been in office since February 1999. In July 2000, he was elected to a six-year term with 59.5 per cent of all cast ballots. In August 2004, Chávez won a referendum on his tenure with 59 per cent of the vote. The special election was called after opposition organizations in Venezuela gathered 2.5 million signatures to force a recall ballot.
The presidential election is scheduled for Dec. 3. In December 2005, Venezuelan voters renewed their National Assembly. The pro-Chávez Fifth Republic Movement (MVR) secured 114 of the 167 seats at stake. Five opposition parties boycotted the election, which saw a turnout of less than 25 per cent.
In May, Borges, Rosales and Petkoff announced their intention to nominate a single candidate to face Chávez. On Jul. 7, civil organization Súmate scheduled an opposition presidential primary for Aug. 13, but Petkoff ruled out taking part.
On Jul. 13, Rosales said he expected to win the opposition primary, adding, "The people are rattled as they seek a solution to the current crisis. The country is urging those who are not part of the government to structure a change in Venezuela."
Polling Data
Which candidate would you vote for in the presidential election?
Hugo Chávez | 55% |
A new candidate | 17% |
Manuel Rosales | 7% |
Julio Andrés Borges (PJ) | 5% |
Teodoro Petkoff | 3% |
Source: Hinterlaces
Methodology: Interviews with 1,200 Venezuelan adults, conducted from Jun. 7 to Jun. 24, 2006. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
