Chavez Likely to Retain Control of Parliament
Reuters reports:
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelans voted for a new parliament on Sunday, with President Hugo Chavez expected to keep control of the National Assembly in a poll that tests his support ahead of the next presidential election in 2012.
Wearing a tracksuit top in the red, yellow and blue of the Venezuelan flag, Chavez arrived to vote at a school in a Caracas slum in a modest red sedan that he drove himself.
"Those who are against, those who are in favor, let us all vote," he told reporters, adding that he was happy the opposition had agreed to take part.
Chavez is not on the ballot, but his larger-than-life personality has dominated the campaigns -- and exposed stark political differences in a country with vast oil and mineral wealth and a huge gap between rich and poor.
Opposition parties in South America's biggest oil producer are guaranteed to make big gains after they boycotted the last legislative election five years ago.
The focus is on whether they can take more than a third of the 165 seats up for grabs, which would mean the socialist president would need support from his foes for major changes to laws or to make appointments to important institutions.
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