Infighting threatens Venezuela vote

Bitter infighting between political parties struggling to resolve differences and official measures to ban opposition candidates on corruption charges are threatening to overshadow regional elections in Venezuela this autumn. Increasingly evident internal divisions between parties supporting leftwing President Hugo Chávez as well as within the opposition movement – which lacks a clear leader to settle its differences – are in danger of splitting votes on both sides, analysts say, as parties scramble to nominate candidates by the August 12 registration deadline. An added complication for the opposition is that some of its most popular candidates are likely to remain disqualified because of corruption charges, pending a ruling from the Supreme Court. Jennifer McCoy, director of the Americas Programme at the Carter Center, which played a key role in endorsing Venezuela’s disputed 2004 recall referendum, worries about perceptions that electable opposition politicians are being prevented from running to clear the way for government-backed candidates. “This perception has the potential to damage the legitimacy of the elections and those elected in them, particularly if the legal issues are not resolved by the Supreme Court before the candidate registration period,” she said.