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Monday, Oct 8, 2012 12:30 AM UTC

Venezuela council: Polling stations remain open

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Topics: From the Wires,

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The president of Venezuela’s electoral council said Sunday night that voting stations would remain open where there were voters who had not cast ballots.

The official, Tibisay Lucena, didn’t say how many voting stations still had voters waiting. Nor did she say for how long the polling stations might remain open.

President Hugo Chavez faced the stiffest challenge of his political life from challenger Henrique Capriles in Sunday’s election.

Capriles complained via Twitter that electoral authorities should close voting stations because most lacked lines.

Dozens of red-shirted Chavez loyalists on motorcycles cruised downtown Caracas, and Robert Flores, the leader of one band, said they were trying to prevent voting stations from closing if some people haden’t voted yet. A Capriles campaign spokesman called for the motorcyclists to be banned from the streets.

Flores led a group of about 200 Chavez loyalists who showed up at a polling stating in the Santa Teresa neighborhood shortly after 6 p.m. Sunday, when polling stations were supposed to close if there were no voters in line. Soldiers and police resolved a dispute at the Santa Teresa station about whether voters remained.

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  • The protests take on a festive element as police forces move out of the park and square. Wearing a gas mask, this young man dances to traditional Turkish music in front of Taksim Square’s Ataturk Monument.

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  • Forming a line, the police face off directly with protesters in Taksim Square. After a while, they retreated and there was a general cheer – a back-and-forth dance that has been common since the beginning of this protest.

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  • Many home-remedies are used to minimize the effects of tear gas. This woman has put a milky solution on her face, removing her mask after the tear gas dissipated. Before sunrise, the police came again for another round of teargasing.

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