Venezuelan presidential election, 2012
Encyclopedia
Patriotic Pole
The Patriotic Pole (Polo Patriótico) is an electoral coalition of left-wingLeft-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
parties led by the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV)
United Socialist Party of Venezuela
The United Socialist Party of Venezuela is the name of a democratic socialist political party in Venezuela which resulted from the fusion of some of the political and social forces that support the Bolivarian Revolution led by incumbent President Hugo Chávez...
, who has been in government since 1999 along with the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV)
Communist Party of Venezuela
The Communist Party of Venezuela is a Marxist-Leninist political party, and the oldest continuously existing party in Venezuela...
and the Venezuelan Popular Unity (UPV) .
Incumbent president Hugo Chávez Frías announced his candidacy at a rally held in Caracas in November 2010, seeking re-election for a third term (2013–2019). On August 4th 2011 members of the coalition ratified the candidacy of Chávez in the upcoming elections.
Democratic Unity
The opposition parties are grouped in the Coalition for Democratic UnityMesa de la Unidad Democrática
The Mesa de la Unidad Democrática is an electoral coalition of Venezuelan political parties formed in January 2008 to unify the opposition to President Hugo Chávez' United Socialist Party of Venezuela in the Venezuelan parliamentary election, 2010...
(Mesa de la Unidad Democrática) electoral coalition. They announced the selection of their candidate through an open primary election
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
to be held on February 12th 2012. The National Electoral Council (CNE)
National Electoral Council (Venezuela)
The National Electoral Council is one of the five independent branches of government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. It is the institution that oversees and guarantees the transparency of all elections and referendums in Venezuela at the local, regional, and national levels...
will carry it out at the request of the political parties. To date, the official candidates are:
- Diego ArriaDiego ArriaDiego Arria Salicetti is a Venezuelan politician, diplomat, former Venezuelan Permanent Representative of Venezuela to the United Nations and President of the Security Council . He was Governor of the Federal District of Caracas in the mid-1970s...
: former representative of Venezuela to the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
(1990—1991) and former governor of the defunct Federal DistrictVenezuelan Capital DistrictThe Capital District of Venezuela is a federal district corresponding to the capital Caracas. It has an area of 433 km² and there is only one administrative division , Libertador, which contains about half City of Caracas. It is the seat of the federal government and the head of the public...
(1974—1978) will be running independently . - Henrique Capriles RadonskiHenrique Capriles RadonskiHenrique Capriles Radonski is a Venezuelan politician. From 2000 until 2008, Capriles was the mayor of Baruta Municipality of Caracas; he launched his candidacy for the Miranda state government in 2008. In November 2008, Capriles was elected the new Governor of Miranda, defeating Diosdado...
: former president of the defunct Chamber of Deputies of Venezuelan CongressVenezuelan Chamber of DeputiesThe Venezuelan Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of Venezuela's legislative under its 1961 constitution; the Venezuelan Senate was the upper house...
(1998—1999) and incumbent governor of the Miranda stateMiranda (state)Miranda State is one of the 23 states into which Venezuela is divided. It is ranked second in population among Venezuelan states, after Zulia State. In June 30, 2010, it had approximately 2,987,968 residents. It also has the greatest Human Development Index in Venezuela, according to the...
since 2008. He is member of the Justice First party (PJ) . - María Corina MachadoMaría Corina MachadoMaría Corina Machado Parisca is a founder, former vice president, and former president of the Venezuelan volunteer civil organization Súmate, along with Alejandro Plaz....
: former president of SúmateSúmateSúmate is a Venezuelan volunteer civil association founded in 2002 by María Corina Machado and Alejandro Plaz. Súmate describes itself as a vote-monitoring group; it has also been described as an election-monitoring group....
and current member of the parliament for Miranda stateMiranda (state)Miranda State is one of the 23 states into which Venezuela is divided. It is ranked second in population among Venezuelan states, after Zulia State. In June 30, 2010, it had approximately 2,987,968 residents. It also has the greatest Human Development Index in Venezuela, according to the...
since 2011 . - Pablo Pérez ÁlvarezPablo Pérez ÁlvarezPablo Martín Pérez Álvarez is a Venezuelan lawyer politician and current Governor of Zulia State.- Studies :In 1986 he graduated from secondary school with a diploma in Humanities. Pérez Álvarez enrolled at University of Zulia to study laws. Later he did postgraduate studies oin Public Law at the...
: incumbent governor of Zulia state. He is the official candidate of the A New Era party . - Leopoldo LópezLeopoldo LópezLeopoldo López Mendoza is a Venezuelan politician and economist. From 2000 until 2008, López was the mayor of the Chacao Municipality of Caracas. A 2006 Los Angeles Times article describes López as an immensely popular leader of the opposition to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, as well as a...
, leader of the Popular WillPopular Will-History:On December 5th, 2009, Leopoldo López along other politics from Un Nuevo Tiempo, Primero Justicia and Acción Democrática., made the official presentation of the Popular Will Movement on a forum in Valencia, Carabobo...
party, is pushing his candidacy but is barred from running following corruption charges . He won a trial at the Interamerican Court of Human Rights which sentenced the venezuelan authorities to allow his participation in electoral events . However they are not obliged to follow the suit .
César Pérez Vivas
César Pérez Vivas
César Pérez Vivas , is a Venezuelan lawyer and politician associated with COPEI in Táchira State. Since 2008 he has been the Governor of Táchira....
, incumbent governor of the Táchira state; Antonio Ledezma, incumbent incumbent mayor of the Metropolitan District of Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
; and Eduardo Fernández former secretary general of COPEI announced their candidacy for the primaries but withdrew from the race citing they'd rather support candidates with bigger chances on winning.