Chavez opponents face election blacklist

Leopoldo Lopez won his last election as mayor of an affluent Caracas district with 81 percent of the vote. Women supporters mobbed him at a recent Mother's Day appearance, posing for photos while he and his wife handed out roses.
But the popular politician's plan to challenge incumbent Juan Barreto, mayor of Greater Caracas, later this year could be thwarted by 26 criminal charges against him - accusations Lopez says were trumped up by an operative of President Hugo Chavez.
He's not alone.
Nearly 400 others - mostly opposition politicians - have been barred from running for office in state and municipal elections in November by Venezuela's top anti-corruption official, a close Chavez ally.
Comptroller General Clodosbaldo Russian made public what critics call a 'blacklist' of candidates in February. Though none has been formally charged with a crime, Russian argues that law allows him to prohibit all 386 from running for office while he investigates charges ranging from nepotism to illegally awarding public contracts"