Venezuela announced Saturday that it will hold a presidential election to succeed late leader Hugo Chavez on April 14 after his political heir took office in a move the opposition rejects.
The national electoral council set the date one day after Nicolas Maduro, Chavez's handpicked successor, was sworn in as acting president in a ceremony largely boycotted by the opposition, which slammed it as unconstitutional.
Shortly after the date was set, the main opposition coalition announced it had chosen Henrique Capriles, who lost to Chavez in the October election, as its unity candidate again, this time to face Maduro.
Capriles wrote on Twitter that he was "grateful" for the offer and would announce soon whether he will accept the nomination. The Miranda state governor was picked by the Democratic Unity Roundtable last year in an unprecedented primary.
Political hostilities had already begun just hours after Venezuela and more than 30 foreign leaders gave Chavez a rousing state funeral, with Maduro railing against the opposition and capitalism following his inauguration.
Emulating his late mentor's combative style, the former vice president vowed "absolute loyalty" to Chavez before donning the presidential sash, his voice cracking as he declared: "Sorry for our pain and tears; but this presidency belongs to our Comandante."
Before Maduro was sworn in, Capriles denounced the inauguration as a "constitutional fraud" and abuse of power by the government.
"Nicolas, nobody elected you president. The people didn't vote for you, kid," said Capriles, 40, who lost to Chavez in the October presidential election. He argued that the caretaker president cannot run for office under the constitution.
Chavez lost his battle to cancer on Tuesday at the age of 58, leaving behind a divided country after a 14-year presidency whose oil-funded socialist policies delighted the poor and infuriated the wealthy.
The firebrand leftist leader named Maduro to succeed him before leaving for Cuba in December for a new round of cancer surgery, urging Venezuelans to vote for the 50-year-old former bus driver if he died.
Chavez beat Capriles by 11 points. But the 40-year-old governor gave the opposition its best result ever against the late president, garnering 44 percent, or 6.5 million, of ballots.
A recent survey by pollsters Hinterlaces gave Maduro a 14-point advantage over Capriles, though the opposition leader has questioned the firm's reliability in the past.
"The next president will have huge challenges: Earning the respect of the impoverished population, who blindly believe in Chavez, in a divided country," said Central University of Venezuela professor Agustin Blanco.
Venezuela has given Chavez an extended farewell, with hundreds of thousands of people swarming the streets of Caracas on Wednesday, cheering and crying as his coffin was slowly taken to a military academy.
Chavez, who forged a near-mystical bond with the country's once-neglected poor, has been lying in state at the academy since then and throngs have filed past his half-open casket nonstop.
The government plans to embalm and preserve Chavez "like Lenin" to rest in a glass casket "for eternity," a move decried by the opposition, which claimed that it went against the president's wish to be buried.
Many of his followers say they will follow their leader's wishes and vote for Maduro, even though some say they still are getting to know him and that the former bus driver and union activist lacks Chavez's charisma.
"Chavismo continues. It's an ideology already. Now we will continue with Madurismo. It's Chavismo continuing through Maduro," said Omaira Salazar, 64, one of the countless people waiting in line to see Chavez.
At his lavish state funeral, foreign leaders and celebrities paying their last respects to the man who built a leftist bloc in Latin America to counter US influence in the region.
The guests ranged from Cuban President Raul Castro, his closest ally, to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn and US civil rights leader Jesse Jackson.
The service even brought Ahmadinejad and Belarussia's veteran leader Alexander Lukashenko to tears as the two, sitting next to each other, wiped away tears as a band played one of Chavez's favorite sentimental songs.
The ceremony was interrupted a few times by chants of "Chavez lives, the struggle goes on!"
AFP
Sat Mar 09 2013
Tokan dadah ditahan bersama dua pucuk pistol di Alor Setar
Polis menahan dua lelaki dan merampas dua pucuk pistol serta pelbagai jenis dadah dalam dua tangkapan di Taman Lam Foong, di Alor Setar.
Tiada tempat selamat di Gaza, kata ketua PBB
Beliau berkata tahap pertempuran dan kemusnahan yang melampau di Gaza tidak dapat difahami dan tidak boleh dimaafkan.
Saya tidak fitnah Lim Guan Eng, cuma jelas tentang siasatan SPRM - Muhyiddin
Muhyiddin memberitahu bahawa beliau tidak memfitnah Lim Guan Eng berhubung isu pengecualian cukai terhadap Yayasan Albukhary.
Saintis kesan gen bantu rawat kanser pankreas
Gen HNF4A (Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 4 Alpha) didapati akan berhenti berfungsi pada tubuh pesakit kanser pankreas.
Pantau Agenda Reformasi: Potensi dan cabaran percambahan e-Sukan di Malaysia
Pengerusi Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung (GPMS) Negeri Selangor
merangkap Timbalan Presiden Majlis Belia Negeri Selangor
E-Sukan mampu mencetak nama Malaysia di pentas dunia. Memahami potensi, kekangan dan peranan yang perlu dimainkan semua pihak dalam melahirkan lebih ramai pemain E-Sukan yang berjaya, seterusnya menyokong pembangunan industri E-Sukan negara.
SRG cipta sejarah pasukan Malaysia pertama juarai MSC MLBB 2024
merangkap Timbalan Presiden Majlis Belia Negeri Selangor
E-Sukan mampu mencetak nama Malaysia di pentas dunia. Memahami potensi, kekangan dan peranan yang perlu dimainkan semua pihak dalam melahirkan lebih ramai pemain E-Sukan yang berjaya, seterusnya menyokong pembangunan industri E-Sukan negara.
SRG cipta sejarah pasukan Malaysia pertama juarai MSC MLBB 2024
Jualan kereta di Malaysia diunjur cecah 765,000 unit
Persatuan Automotif Malaysia (MAA) melakukan semakan semula berkaitan sasaran jumlah keseluruhan industri (TIV) kepada 765,000 unit berbanding unjuran awal 740,000 unit untuk 2024. Semakan dibuat disokong oleh persekitaran ekonomi yang positif dan jumlah tempatan tertunggak yang masih berada pada tahap yang baik
Kementerian Digital cari kaedah kurangkan kos pelaksanaan sistem e-invois
Kerajaan sedang mencari kaedah mengurangkan kos pelaksanaan sistem e-invois untuk Perusahaan Kecil dan Sederhana (PKS) selepas sistem itu diwajibkan untuk semua perniagaan pada 1 Julai 2025
Perbelanjaan pengguna dijangka meningkat tahun ini
Perbelanjaan Pengguna Malaysia dijangka meningkat sepanjang tahun ini
dengan unjuran sebanyak RM904.6 bilion, ketika proses pemulihan ekonomi menunjukkan kemajuan pada ketika ini.
dengan unjuran sebanyak RM904.6 bilion, ketika proses pemulihan ekonomi menunjukkan kemajuan pada ketika ini.
Suspek bunuh Nur Farah Kartini dibawa ke lokasi kejadian
Suspek kes pembunuhan Nur Farah Kartini Abdullah dibawa ke lokasi kejadian di ladang kelapa sawit di Kampung Sri Keledang, Hulu Bernam, Selangor.
Beberapa kementerian bincang perketat undang-undang - Fahmi
Penambahbaikan aspek perundangan akan diteliti kerajaan, termasuk mengadakan perbincangan dengan beberapa kementerian berkaitan dalam masa terdekat, bagi memperketatkan undang-undang berkaitan buli siber.
Pilihan raya mengejut: Amanah gesa PH segera persiapkan jentera
Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) menggesa semua parti komponen Pakatan Harapan (PH) mempersiapkan jentera pilihan raya dengan kadar segera.
Rehat sebentar dari politik Malaysia, hiburkan diri dengan Bruno Mars
Ketika rakyat Malaysia rancak berbual tentang keputusan PRU14, yang sedang diumumkan pada malam ini, penyanyi Bruno Mars menggegarkan Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil.
Menjelang 'Grand Finale', borak luar garisan politik dominasi media sosial
Pengguna media sosial lebih bebas menyatakan pendapat mengenai PRU14 dan politik dan tidak dibayangi oleh pemimpin-pemimpin atau parti-parti politik.
Undi luar negara tidak beri kesan kepada kerusi marginal?
Walaupun calon Parlimen Pulai mengakui undi luar negara tidak memberi kesan kepada keputusan di kerusi itu kelak, ia tetap tidak mengubah kedudukan kerusi itu sebagai salah satu kerusi marginal.
PRU14: Beban berat buat Fahmi Fadzil untuk teruskan legasi Nurul Izzah
Kerja kuat pencabar daripada BN, Datuk Seri Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin, juga mungkin menyebabkan laluan Fahmi ke Parlimen lebih sukar.
PRU14: Karpet merah atau onak duri menanti Tun M di Langkawi?
Adakah Langkawi bakal beri laluan mudah kepada Tun M?
Climate change in Malaysia and what it means for us
The worlds climate is changing for the worse, and humans are responsible for that. Lets dive into a touch of science to make sense of this.
Beri peluang Umno terajui BN P. Pinang - Reezal Merican
Barisan Nasional (BN) Pulau Pinang wajar memberi peluang kepada Umno untuk mengetuai barisan kepimpinan parti itu bagi memulihkan kepercayaan rakyat di negeri ini.
PR teruskan perhimpunan bantah keputusan PRU-13
Pakatan Rakyat (PR) meneruskan perhimpunan pasca pilihan raya umum ke-13 (PRU-13)di Stadium Kelana Jaya malam ini.
Bantahan terbuka tidak akan ubah keputusan PRU13 - SPR
Sebarang bantahan terbuka atau perhimpunan tidak mampu mengubah keputusan pilihan raya umum atau mengakibatkan ia diadakan semula, kata Pengerusi Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya.