This article was originally posted by Reuters Africa
Venezuelans vote for a new parliament on Sept. 26 in an election President Hugo Chavez views as crucial to the continuation of his socialist reforms and opponents see as a chance to turn the tide against him.
Here are some questions and answers on the impending vote.
HOW IMPORTANT IS THIS ELECTION?
* Chavez has told supporters the vote is of huge significance to prevent opponents from derailing his self-styled “revolution,” now in its 12th year. In typical style, he has declared the campaign “Operation Demolition.”
Analysts view it as an important test of his popularity — which polls show slipping in percentage terms to the low 40s — ahead of the next presidential vote in 2012. Though not standing in the election, Chavez is the dominant figure, his face adorning huge government posters round Caracas, his name on the lips of every opposition candidate.
* The vote is guaranteed to give the opposition at least some sort of representation after they boycotted the last National Assembly election in 2005. That decision gave Chavez carte blanche in parliament and is now widely regretted among opposition parties. Their most realistic goal is to slash Chavez’s majority to below two-thirds in the 165-seat assembly, which would complicate his ability to pass major laws. Even if they do not manage that, the opposition will at least be able to air criticism in the assembly for the first time in years.
WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE OUTCOMES?
* While both Chavez and the opposition say they have the majority of Venezuela’s 27 million people behind them, polls show a deeply divided nation with about a third of Venezuelans in the so-called “neither, nor” camp of not supporting either the government or the opposition. Chavez’s approval rating was above 50 percent at the last vote in 2009, but is now in the 40s. That makes for a hard-to-predict electoral scenario.