Chavez foes want audit of Venezuela's voter rolls

Opponents of President Hugo Chavez demanded an audit of Venezuelas voter registry, claiming they have discovered that voter rolls include thousands of people that share the same names and birthdates but have different identification numbers.Enrique Marquez, an ally of opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, said government adversaries have uncovered approximately 60,000 irregularities within the registry, which contains basic information regarding more than 19 million voters.Chavezs foes have also discovered the registry includes the names of Venezuelans who have died and voters whose ages, ranging from 111 to 129 years, have raised concerns, he added.Marquez said that numerous other Venezuelans have unexplainably have been authorized to vote only at polling stations far from their homes, not the stations where they have cast their ballots in the past and many of them have not been informed of the changes.Without responding specifically to the concerns expressed by Marquez, Socorro Hernandez, one of the election councils directors, said Wednesday that any problems will be resolved and defended the transparency of Venezuelas electronic voting system.Chavezs campaign manager, Jorge Rodriguez, accused government foes of waging a smear campaign against the council.Politicians on both sides of Venezuelas political divide are preparing for the countrys Oct. 7 presidential election.Chavez, a former paratroop commander who is seeking re-election to another 6-year term, has vowed to win the vote in a landslide.In the past year, Chavez has undergone two surgeries that removed tumors from his pelvic region, most recently in February.Both during and after his cancer treatments, Chavez has appeared in public less frequently than he used to, a dramatic shift for a leader who for much of his 13-year-old presidency has kept a busy schedule of televised talks and rallies.Capriles, a popular state governor who has been trailing in the polls, is traveling across the country to drum up support for his candidacy.Many opposition leaders distrust the election council because they perceive the majority of its five directors as Chavezs confidants. The institutions directors have repeatedly rejected allegations the council is tilted in the presidents favor.