CARACAS: Venezuelans voted Sunday in state elections overshadowed by President Hugo Chavez's latest and seemingly toughest battle against cancer.
The vote for the 23 state governors of the country with the world's largest proven oil reserves will be a test for Henrique Capriles, the opposition leader Chavez beat in presidential elections in October.
Capriles -- governor of the populous Miranda state, which includes part of the capital, Caracas -- is seeking re-election and a consolidated status as leader of an array of parties that oppose Chavez, a garrulous former paratrooper who has thoroughly dominated this nation since first being elected in 1999.
"The regional elections are not as interesting to the people (as presidential votes), but they are equally important," Pedro Valladares, a retiree of 70 years, told AFP at a polling station in Caracas.
"The governor also counts, and now with Chavez like this, you should go vote," he said, highlighting the uncertainty in the country.
Chavez is recovering from his latest surgery Tuesday in Cuba, his fourth cancer operation since being diagnosed last year. He has also been undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
The government says he has now spoken to his family, but the surgery was marred by complications, according to aides, and Chavez faces a tough recovery. His inauguration is January 10.
Chavez's handpicked political heir, Nicolas Maduro, a former bus driver turned foreign minister and vice president, is gingerly warning people of the prospect of Chavez becoming incapacitated, or worse.
The government is keeping mum on where in his body Chavez is afflicted with cancer, and exactly how bad it is.
In the elections, the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela is seeking to wrest away opposition strongholds like Miranda and the oil-producing state of Zulia in the northwest.
Chavez's party now controls 15 states, while the opposition holds seven and one is independent.
For Capriles, there are two big issues at stake.
In the short term, there is his job as governor of Miranda. And after losing the presidential election by a 10-point margin, he also needs to strengthen his status as opposition leader in case there is another presidential election soon.
That would happen if Chavez is not fit to be inaugurated on January 10 -- the ceremony is etched in stone and cannot be postponed -- or dies in the first four years of his six-year term.
Anticipating the possibility of such a scenario, Chavez gave Maduro de facto presidential power before leaving for Cuba and said the vice president should be the ruling-party candidate in the event of another presidential poll.
Capriles has accused the government of trying to persuade people to vote pro-Chavez out of sympathy for their ailing leader.
For the first time since coming to power in 1999, Chavez isn't out supporting his party's candidates, and instead Maduro has played Chavez's role in the campaign, attending rallies in his place.
Some 17.4 million people are eligible to cast ballots in the elections.
Polls opened minutes after 6:00 am local time (1030 GMT) and were expected to close 12 hours later, though those still in line would be allowed to vote.
The ruling party has deployed 180,000 volunteer observers.
There are also delegates from 18 countries to observe at polling stations, and from the Union of South American Nations.
In addition to the 23 governors, voters are choosing 237 deputies to regional councils.
Results are expected between two and five hours after polls close, the election commission told AFP.
Some 140,000 police and soldiers are providing security.
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