Venezuelan president hints he will not accept defeat in mid-term election

Venezuela’s president has hinted that he will not accept the result of crucial mid-term elections being held on Sunday should his Chavista movement loses its majority in congress.

Speaking to candidates from his ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela, or PSUV, Nicolás Maduro warned: "I know we are going to triumph. But if something negative comes to pass I will go to the street to fight with the people, as I have always done, and the revolution will enter another stage."

Intimidation

Venezuela’s government has been using increasingly inflammatory rhetoric as the vote approaches in response to opinion polls showing that for the first time since former president Hugo Chávez came to power 17 years ago, his populist left-wing movement is set to lose control over the 167-seat national assembly.

Last month an opposition leader was shot dead at an election rally in the worst incident in a campaign of intimidation the United Democratic Table, or MUD, alliance says is being waged against it.

Mr Maduro said the politician was linked to organised crime and killed as part of a criminal dispute and that his opponents were now seeking to use his death to smear him.

Though pollsters have traditionally underestimated electoral support for Chavismo, they are currently predicting that the MUD could beat the PSUV by two to one, well beyond any margin of error.

Deterioration

The PSUV’s electoral prospects have been undermined by a dramatic deterioration in the economy, which has been badly exposed by the drop in the price of oil, Venezuela’s only meaningful export. Many basic foodstuffs and items such as toilet paper are now hard to find as the self-styled Bolivarian revolution lacks the money to pay for imports, while misguided government policies have destroyed the country’s productive capacity.

Many voters are also angry at rampant corruption and the inability of the government to contain an explosion in violent crime which makes Venezuela one of the most dangerous societies on earth. A lacklustre public speaker, Mr Maduro also suffers from comparisons to his charismatic predecessor Chávez whom he succeeded as president following the latter’s death from cancer in 2013.

But just as the likelihood of the government losing its majority in congress increases, the opposition coalition is showing signs of splintering between moderates and more radical anti-Chavista groups.