Chavez ducks Venezuela poll hard questions

7 Oct 2012, 3:58 pm   -   Source: AAP

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has cited election law to excuse himself from responding to tough questions on the eve of the country's elections.

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Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has held an impromptu news conference for international media on the eve of what is expected to be his closest election, but he refused to answer tough questions such as whether he would quit politics if he lost.

Chavez on Saturday excused himself from responding by citing election law, which prohibits candidates from making political statements in the 48 hours before election day.

His challenger, Henrique Capriles, has not appeared in public since Thursday in compliance with election law.

Capriles's campaign manager, Armando Briquet, called Chavez's news conference "a clear violation of the citizens' right to freely choose, without pressure".

And Capriles tweeted a response to Chavez's typically long-winded answers, which made the obscure references to which Venezuelans have become accustomed during the president's nearly 14 years in office.

"Some people at this hour are continuing with the same nonsense as always, the same old stories, with the difference being that they are of farewell," Capriles said.

Asked about the possibility of disputes or unrest after Sunday's voting, Chavez said he hoped no one attempted a "destabilising game". If that happens, he said "we'll be alert to neutralise them".

Chavez has spent much of the past year battling cancer in the pelvic area, a disease whose nature he has kept secret. He claims he is now cancer-free.

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