Chávez's allies win most races; opposition takes biggest states

Turnout heavy at Venezuela polls

President Hugo Chávez waved to supporters before entering a polling station in Caracas to vote in yesterday's elections. (Juan Barreto/ AFP/ Getty Images)

CARACAS - Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez's allies won a majority in Venezuela's local elections yesterday, but the opposition made important gains, capturing the mayor's office in the capital and winning the two most populous states.

With more than 95 percent of votes counted, opposition candidates won at least three states, while Chavez's allies had won 17 in the vote, election agency chief Tibisay Lucena said.

The opposition won in the two most populous states - Miranda and Zulia - as well as Nueva Esparta, Lucena said. The Caracas mayor's office now shifts from a Chávez supporter to an opponent.

But Chávez party spokesman Alberto Muller played down the opposition victories.

"We are the country's foremost political force," said Muller, flanked by other red-clad Chávez allies. "We don't see an opposition victory on a political map painted red."

Chávez's brother, Adan, won the governor's race to succeed their father in the president's home state of Barinas. The results of two other states - Carabobo and Tachira - were still too close to call.

Turnout topped 65 percent among the 16.8 million registered voters, a new high for a local election in Venezuela, Lucena said.

Chávez faced an emboldened opposition aiming to break his dominance and regain power in key states and cities.

Although Chávez held on to a majority of posts, the vote still could force him to deal with more hostile opponents at the local level.

After a decade in office, the president still enjoys solid popularity. But last year's defeat of his attempt to abolish term limits energized the opposition, which has also sought to capitalize on complaints about rampant crime, corruption, and inflation.

Aquiles Vera, 47, a construction worker who voted in a Caracas slum, said he supported Chávez's candidates and believed the president's ability to stay in office was at stake.

Vera said he fears a loss for pro-Chávez candidates could mean "all the president's plans would collapse - like the missions (social programs), cheap food, medicines."

In the second-largest city of Maracaibo, Isabel Cepeda said she was fed up with corruption and trash-strewn streets and was voting for opposition challenger Manuel Rosales for mayor. Cepeda, 52, said it was also a vote against Chávez.

"We want democracy to continue in our country, and it's now held hostage," said Cepeda, in Zulia state, one of the opposition's prizes in the vote.

In 2004 state elections, Chávez allies swept all but two of 23 governorships and a majority of local offices. In this vote, 22 governorships, 330 mayoral posts, and other offices were up for grabs.

At least 106 people were detained by authorities during the vote, many for destroying balloting materials such as voter receipts, the attorney general's office said.

Six were arrested in Guarico state for allegedly attacking voters.

One person was stabbed in a clash between government supporters and opponents in Bolivar state, and attackers stole two Kalashnikov assault rifles from soldiers at a polling station in Anzoategui state, General Jesus Gonzalez said.

Polling stations where there were lines were permitted to remain open until all had cast ballots, a common practice in Venezuelan elections.

Enrique Marquez, an opposition leader, expressed concern on the process. Marquez said witnesses at about 150 polling stations reported that soldiers who were in charge of security hadn't closed the centers even though no one was in line to vote.

Electoral agency chief Lucena said voting went smoothly and there was a massive turnout.