Venezuela sets 14 April date to elect Chavez’s successor
11 March 2013 7:48 AM IST
Venezuelans will vote 14 April to choose a successor to Hugo Chavez, the elections commission announced as increasingly strident political rhetoric begins to roil this polarized country.
The constitution mandated the election be held within 30 days of Chavez's death, but the date picked falls outside that period. Critics of the socialist government already complained that officials violated the constitution by swearing in Vice President Nicolas Maduro as acting leader Friday night. Some people have speculated Venezuela will not be ready to organise the vote in time, but elections council chief Tibisay Lucena said the country's electronic voting system was fully prepared.
Lucena announced the date on state television while a small inset in the picture showed people filing past Chavez's coffin at the military academy in Caracas, where his body is.
Chavez's boisterous state funeral often felt like a political rally for his anointed successor, Maduro, who eulogized him by pledging eternal loyalty and vowing Chavez's movement will never be defeated.
The constitution mandated the election be held within 30 days of Chavez's death, but the date picked falls outside that period. Critics of the socialist government already complained that officials violated the constitution by swearing in Vice President Nicolas Maduro as acting leader Friday night. Some people have speculated Venezuela will not be ready to organise the vote in time, but elections council chief Tibisay Lucena said the country's electronic voting system was fully prepared.
Lucena announced the date on state television while a small inset in the picture showed people filing past Chavez's coffin at the military academy in Caracas, where his body is.
Chavez's boisterous state funeral often felt like a political rally for his anointed successor, Maduro, who eulogized him by pledging eternal loyalty and vowing Chavez's movement will never be defeated.
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