Opposition still striving for unity election candidates; mid-month deadline for full accord could be hit

Caracas Daily Journal (Jeremy Morgan): Hopes that the opposition might sail through calm waters on the way to selecting single unity candidates for the November 23 regional elections revived Wednesday when William Ojeda of Un Nuevo Tiempo (UNT) said there would be full agreement by the deadline of July 15. Ojeda, who wants to run for mayor of Sucre municipality in east Caracas but has yet to win the nomination, told Union Radio that opposition leaders would work on agreeing on candidates "because what matters is the life of the people."

UNT and Primero Justicia are deemed to have led the way in the selection process so far, but are under pressure to speed up the process and hit the timetable set by an agreement signed by mainstream opposition parties last January.

Opposition spokesmen say there's now agreement on candidates for governor in 10 states. But that leaves a dozen slots for governor still undecided, plus at least 250 candidates for mayor. Officials say selection is being based on the results of opinion polls. Choices so far have, however, involved a degree of horse-trading, with aspirants standing aside if they're shown not to be clear front-runners.

Ojeda himself was put on the spot when he was asked if he would be willing to abandon his bid for Sucre in favor of Carlos Ocariz of Primero Justicia. "That's obvious," he declared, "it's our responsibility, we're serious people and the central concern is the country."

Accion Democrática (AD) took the issue abroad, as had Chacao Mayor Leopoldo Lopez of UNT last week. Lopez was detained at the airport on his return from the United States, where he spoke with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

AD Secretary-General Henry Ramos Allup spoke to the International Socialist meeting near Athens. He accused President Hugo Chavez of being a traitor for having instilled abroad "the fame of a perilous, unstable and conflictive Venezuela" and damaging the country's image and economy.