By Ingrid Bachmann
Just days before the Venezuelan parliamentary elections, representatives from the opposition Democratic Unity Coalition filed a complaint with the National Electoral Board (CNE) alleging that President Hugo Chavez was abusing the media by using them to campaign for candidates supportive of Chavez's party, reported El Universal.
According to El Impulso, the opposition believes that the president is abusing his position to campaign for candidates from his party, which violates election laws. For example, for more than three hours in a row in all the media in the country, and another four hours on state media, the president appeared with the logos of his party, which would be illegal.
In contrast, the opposition alliance has prohibited the use of its logo on campaign pieces about the candidates or parties, added Venevisión.
Last week, the news agency AFP highlighted Chavez's role in the election campaign, where he has called for people to vote for "his candidates."
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
