
Chavez’s desired successor, interim president nicolas maduro, takes over the government. The opposition sends the governor of miranda, henrique capriles radonski, as a candidate in the race, as in the election of october 2012. Polls give maduro a clear lead.
Venezuelans can cast their votes at electronic voting machines in 13,800 voting centers nationwide. The polling stations open at around 06.00 o’clock (12.30 a.M. CEST) and stopped at around 18.00 o’clock (monday/00.30 a.M. CEST), provided there are no more queues in front of the polling stations. The result could be announced already three to four hours later. During the election campaign, which lasted only ten days, the socialist maduro presented himself as confident of victory and as the heir to the "bolivarian revolution" of chavez.
"Chavez has left behind a solid construction. … We have lost a great leader, but his project, built together by workers, farmers, women, indigenous people, africans and youth, is more alive than ever," the 50-year-old ex-peasant minister wrote in an article for the british newspaper "the guardian" (friday). Poverty in venezuela has fallen drastically in recent years. That is why the government has democratically won almost all elections and votes since 1998 – 16 in total, maduro added.