Defiant Lopez says will pursue Venezuela presidency

CARACAS: Defiant opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez on Tuesday insisted he would seek Venezuela's presidency even if President Hugo Chavez's government does not promise he could take office if he were to win.

Chavez, 57, who is ailing and seeking reelection next year, tried to exclude Lopez from seeking office, citing alleged corruption in 2005 which he denied, and which the politician appealed to the Inter-American Human Rights Court.

The Costa Rica-based court this year upheld Lopez's right to seek office, but Venezuela then sent the case to its own highest court which Monday upheld its decision that he is unable to hold public office until 2014.

The Venezuelan government then said Lopez legally could run for president in the current election cycle, but said it could not guarantee that if he were to win against Chavez on October 7, 2012, that he could take office legally.

"I am able to be, and I am going to be candidate for the Presidency," Lopez, 40, told reporters, slamming what he called the Chavez government's "threat to take away the people's decision."

Human Rights Watch hit out at the Venezuelan Supreme Court's ruling, calling it a "coup against the rule of law."

"These days, the Supreme Court belongs to President Chavez," said Jose Miguel Vivanco, HRW chief for the Americas.

Lopez is running second or third in the opposition side polls behind Miranda state governor Henrique Capriles.

Lopez is squaring off against Capriles, 39, aiming to be elected through a series of primary elections to be the sole opposition candidate to face off against Chavez, who is battling cancer but has said he will run again for a third term after 12 years in power.

So far, nearly a dozen opposition leaders have announced they will run in the primaries for the chance to go up against Chavez, who has dominated Venezuelan politics since coming to power in 1999.

Chavez traveled to Cuba at the weekend for what he said would be a thorough medical exam after undergoing multiple rounds of chemotherapy in his battle with cancer.