How do you spell success? No head of state in recent history has been re-elected so many times by such an overwhelming majority of the population as has President Hugo Chávez Frías. Any national leader in the world "would die for" his margins in any election campaign. His success has been documented in so many elections and referenda that repetition of the details would bore the reader. The elections and referenda in Venezuela over the last ten years have been monitored by international observers with greater intensity than any, among developed and developing countries and no serious challenge to their validity has ever been put forth. The reason is that elections and referenda in Venezuela are democratic in the truest sense of the term.

The system of electronic voting in Venezuela is verified by paper printouts for the voter which are then deposited in election boxes. A healthy 55% of those votes are then checked against the electronic printout of the voting machine in the presence of witnesses from all political parties, supervised by the the CNE (Consejo Nacional Electoral), i.e. the National Electoral Council. If the results tally and everyone present signs the election act, the results are than electronically transmitted to the CNE center in Caracas. The board of rectors of the CNE is comprised of representatives of the government and those who oppose the government. What are the reasons of this president's success? We invite our readers to answer the question in the readers' comment section below.

- Axis Editorial Board

Venezuelanalysis.com
By Tamara Pearson

Merida, January 3rd, 2010 – According to a study carried out by the Venezuelan Institute of Data Analysis (IVAD), Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez’s approval has dropped slightly, to 60.3%, from 62.4% last October.

IVAD performed the study from 12 to 20 December, interviewing 1,200 people directly in their homes. IVAD selected the interviewees at random but also reflecting a range of regions and social groups in Venezuela.

To the question, “How do you rate Hugo Chavez’s management as president of Venezuela?,” 38.7% said “bad” and 60.5% said “good”. The poll also confirmed that Chavez’s party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), continues to be the most popular party.

The poll comes as PSUV, opposition and other party leaders prepare for an election campaign year, where all positions in the National Assembly will be up for election in September.

In May 2008 an IVAD poll said Chavez had an approval rating of 68.8%, and in October last year, 62.4%. IVAD polls tend to reflect greater support for the president than polls by opposition polling agencies.

Venezuelanalysis