Venezuela's opposition makes gains in local elections
Hugo Chavez's party held on to 17 of the 22 states
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Monday, 24, Nov 2008 10:24
Venezuela's opposition has made gains in the country's regional elections, but president Hugo Chavez has held on to 17 of the 22 states.
With more than 95 per cent of the votes counted, the country's electoral agency said that Mr Chavez's allies had won the majority of the states but the opposition had taken at least three, including the two most populous and the mayoral elections in Caracas.
Until Sunday, Mr Chavez and his allies controlled 21 of the states, including a majority of local offices.
The president said previously that the outcome could decide "the future of the revolution, the future of socialism and also the future of Hugo Chavez".
Caracas's mayor-elect Antonio Ledezma called on the government to help "rescue" the capital from the problems of rising crime and help improve public services.
While opposition leader Manuel Rosales welcomed the results, stating the "map of Venezuela has started to change".
Turnout for the election is reported to have been 65 per cent, a record for local elections in recent years.
The results could make Mr Chavez's ambition to change the law to allow him to re-run for election in 2012 a little harder, especially after the country narrowly rejected the proposal in a referendum last year.