CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s presidential vote will be held on Oct. 7 next year when socialist leader Hugo Chavez hopes to win re-election and prolong his self-styled “revolution” in South America’s largest oil exporter.

Tuesday’s announcement starts what is expected to be a close race between Chavez, who is being treated for cancer, and an opposition candidate to be picked in a February primary.

The charismatic but authoritarian Chavez, 57, has dominated Venezuela since 1999, thrilling supporters in shanty-town strongholds but alienating many others with his blunt rhetoric, tough treatment of critics and sweeping nationalizations.

The man who has become Washington’s main irritant in Latin America — a mantle inherited from Cuba’s Fidel Castro — wants to rule for at least two more six-year terms until 2025.

“Onward everyone with Chavez to victory in 2012!” said his Information Minister Andres Izarra after the National Election Board’s announcement of the date ended months of uncertainty.

The opposition has scheduled its primary election for Feb. 12 next year, with the youthful governor of Miranda state, Henrique Capriles Radonski, 39, favored to win.

He will face a strong challenge from a fellow opposition governor, Pablo Perez of Zulia state, and others.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s presidential vote will be held on October 7 next year when Hugo Chavez hopes to win re-election and cement his socialist “revolution” in South America’s largest oil exporter.

Tuesday’s announcement of the date sounds the starting gun for what is expected to be a close race between Chavez, who is being treated for cancer, and an opposition unity candidate to be picked in a February primary.

Chavez, 57, has dominated politics in Venezuela since 1999 and said on Tuesday he expects to rule for at least two more six-year terms until 2025.

The National Election Board’s announcement of an October 7 date ended months of speculation over the timing of the vote.

The opposition has scheduled its primary election for February 12, with a youthful state governor, Henrique Capriles Radonski, the favorite to win.

The October date gives them plenty of time to run a campaign, and also gives Chavez more than a year to get his health back on track. He is due to start a fourth round of chemotherapy within days, after cancer surgery in June.

Boris Segura, senior economist at Nomura International Securities in New York, said election authorities had chosen a sensible date, even though they had brought it forward from December when Venezuela traditionally holds presidential votes.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Tuesday he would undergo a fourth round of chemotherapy soon but expected to be fully fit by the end of the year in time for a presidential election campaign.

The 57-year-old socialist leader has led South America’s top oil exporter since 1999 and changed the constitution to allow indefinite re-election. But his hopes for a lengthy rule were thrown into doubt by a cancer diagnosis this year.

Phoning into an early morning state TV program, Chavez said he had recovered from a throat infection that kept him out of public view in recent days and showed his vulnerability to infections during the cancer treatment.

“I have faith, my recovery is going well,” he said.

Chavez — who has lost hair during the first three sessions of chemotherapy, prompting supporters to shave heads in solidarity — said he will have a fourth round in coming days.

“After this chemotherapy, the last one God-willing, I will undoubtedly start physical exercise,” said Chavez, who has restricted his famously demanding work schedule during his treatment.

Doctors plan a full evaluation in October to check there are no more malignant cells, the president added.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s convalescing President Hugo Chavez laughed off talk of succession on Wednesday and said his enemies were engaging in speculation that his cancer diagnosis was made up to boost his popularity.

“They say I’m putting on a show; it’s they who are putting on a macabre show,” said Chavez in another TV appearance that has marked a growing public presence since two trips to Cuba for surgery to remove a cancerous tumour and then chemotherapy.

The ever-theatrical Chavez loudly patted his stomach to show he was not wearing a colostomy bag, responding to one theory doing the rounds that his problems are intestinal.

Though no leading opposition figures have publicly suggested Chavez’s version of his cancer is untrue, precise medical details have been scarce, and Venezuelans have been endlessly speculating about what condition the president has.

Some in the most radical anti-Chavez circles have been muttering that the cancer story is a ploy to boost his popularity ahead of 2012 when he plans to seek re-election in the South American OPEC member he has dominated for 12 years.

“Some of the spokesmen for the squalid ones, the counter-revolution, the right wing, capitalism and the empire … first they were celebrating because Chavez was dying,” he said, laughing. “Now they say I’m making it up.”

In a buoyant mood ahead of his 57th birthday on Thursday, Chavez also mocked another topic of national speculation: who might replace him if he becomes incapacitated.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s convalescing President Hugo Chavez laughed off talk of succession on Wednesday and said his enemies were engaging in speculation that his cancer diagnosis was made up to boost his popularity.

“They say I’m putting on a show; it’s they who are putting on a macabre show,” said Chavez in another TV appearance that has marked a growing public presence since two trips to Cuba for surgery to remove a cancerous tumor and then chemotherapy.

The ever-theatrical Chavez loudly patted his stomach to show he was not wearing a colostomy bag, responding to one theory doing the rounds that his problems are intestinal.

Though no leading opposition figures have publicly suggested Chavez’s version of his cancer is untrue, precise medical details have been scarce, and Venezuelans have been endlessly speculating about what condition the president has.

Some in the most radical anti-Chavez circles have been muttering that the cancer story is a ploy to boost his popularity ahead of 2012 when he plans to seek re-election in the South American OPEC member he has dominated for 12 years.

“Some of the spokesmen for the squalid ones, the counter-revolution, the right wing, capitalism and the empire … first they were celebrating because Chavez was dying,” he said, laughing. “Now they say I’m making it up.”

In a buoyant mood ahead of his 57th birthday on Thursday, Chavez also mocked another topic of national speculation: who might replace him if he becomes incapacitated.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez acknowledged for the first time on Wednesday he may need radiotherapy or chemotherapy for cancer treatment that has rocked the OPEC-member nation that he has led since 1999.

Mystery and rumor have surrounded the 56-year-old socialist leader’s precise condition since surgery in Cuba last month to remove a cancerous tumor.

Allies of Chavez insist he is in a recovery phase, but one source close to his medical team has said he faces lengthy chemotherapy for colon cancer.

“I’m in the second stage of the disease, (going through) an organ-by-organ assessment and other factors, I mustn’t give more details,” Chavez told state TV, according to quotes provided by his office and also in other local media.

In the most detailed comments yet on his surgery in Havana last month and followup treatment, Chavez said he had a six-hour operation to reduce a nearly “baseball-size” tumor.

He also said more robust medical methods were necessary. “We’re about to start a second stage and maybe a third, to block those malignant cells,” he said.

“It could be radiotherapy or chemotherapy.”

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s convalescing President Hugo Chavez reappeared on Thursday, visiting a Caracas military base in an apparent attempt to show he was still fully in charge of his South American nation despite recent cancer surgery.

“We will live, we will conquer, Amen!” Chavez told military cadets and officers as he strolled, wearing a tracksuit and holding a microphone in a visit carried live on state TV.

The 56-year-old socialist leader, who had a cancerous tumor removed last month in Cuba, was back to his chatty self, but showed some discomfort in walking and looked pale.

“I don’t have much time,” he said, in contrast to his usual hours-long appearances during such events.

Chavez has reasserted political domination of the OPEC nation with his return to Caracas this week, but doubts remain over the precise state of his health.

One source close to his doctors has said Chavez has colon cancer and is facing lengthy chemotherapy treatment.

There has been no confirmation of that and senior government figures says he is recovering well.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez saluted his people on their 200th anniversary of independence on Tuesday, looking pale but defiant after a triumphant return from cancer surgery in Cuba.

Ordinarily, the 56-year-old would have been out watching the parades of troops, tanks and fighter jets marking the bicentennial of the end of Spanish colonial rule. Instead, he gave a brief address from inside his presidential palace.

“Here I am — in recovery but still recovering,” he said.

Chavez hinted he hoped to prolong his rule for many years to come, urging supporters to join a “new, long march” to another bicentennial celebration in 2021 of a famous battle.

His return from Havana has let him reassert political control over the South American OPEC member. But it has not dispelled concerns his illness could curb his ability to rule, or to campaign for a presidential election due next year.

The socialist leader had a cancerous tumor removed and it is unclear whether malignant cells spread. He needs “strict” medical treatment but has vowed to win his health battle.

One source close to Chavez’s medical team told Reuters the president could have colon cancer in an advanced condition that would require chemotherapy for several months.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez saluted his people on their 200th anniversary of independence on Tuesday, looking pale but defiant after a triumphant return from cancer surgery in Cuba.

Ordinarily, the 56-year-old would have been out watching the parades of troops, tanks and fighter jets marking the bicentennial of the end of Spanish colonial rule. Instead, he gave a brief address from inside his presidential palace.

“Here I am — in recovery but still recovering,” he said.

Chavez hinted he hoped to prolong his rule for many years to come, urging supporters to join a “new, long march” to another bicentennial celebration in 2021 of a famous battle.

His return from Havana has let him reassert political control over the South American OPEC member. But it has not dispelled concerns his illness could curb his ability to rule, or to campaign for a presidential election due next year.

The socialist leader had a cancerous tumor removed and it is unclear whether malignant cells spread. He needs “strict” medical treatment but has vowed to win his health battle.

After an emotional homecoming speech to thousands of delirious supporters from the palace balcony late on Monday, Chavez swapped his military uniform for presidential regalia to give the short address for Tuesday’s celebrations.

CARACAS (Reuters) – President Hugo Chavez has brought his magnetic leadership style back to Venezuela, yet questions linger over the state of his health and ability to manage the often unruly South American OPEC nation.

Following are some of the main unanswered questions after Chavez’s return to Venezuela following cancer surgery in Cuba:

WHAT IS HIS PRECISE STATE?

* Chavez is the only one to have given specific public details on his medical condition, and he has kept the full picture to himself. What he has revealed is that he had a “cancerous tumor” removed at a Havana hospital on June 20 and now needs further “strict” medical supervision.

* That has spawned different interpretations. His closest allies say Chavez is now in a process of recovery after the trauma of his diagnosis and operation, while others speculate the malignant cells could have spread — or metastasized — requiring repeated cycles of chemotherapy. The strongest current rumor in pro-opposition media is that Chavez has colon cancer.

* Whether on the road to recovery, or fighting to beat the disease, the 56-year-old Chavez is clearly weaker, walking carefully and limiting a homecoming speech to 34 minutes instead of his usual hours-long oratory. Famous for his physical vigor during a 12-year rule, the new image of a vulnerable Chavez has dented his aura of invincibility. But it has also touched a chord of sympathy among supporters and left usually vitriolic critics choosing their words more carefully.

CAN HE GOVERN EFFECTIVELY, RUN FOR RE-ELECTION IN 2012?