CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – With only 26 years of age, Jesus Casanova has already earned a degree in journalism, is the owner of a South American swimming championship and last year was crowned Mister Venezuela in this beauty-obsessed nation. Now he wants to add a new title to his achievements: congressman.
Along with a cadre of athletes, hip-hop artists and TV personalities, Casanova was one of several minor celebrities, most of them political novices, who competed Sunday in primaries to select candidates for the ruling socialist party for December’s legislative elections.
More than 1 100 candidates were on the ballots, from which 110 of the candidates for the National Assembly’s 167 seats will emerge. The rest will be proposed by party leaders.
Results were not expected until Monday after voting hours were extended twice until 9 p.m. local time. After voting early in the day, President Nicolas Maduro boasted on state television that turnout was double past primaries by the ruling party and the opposition.
Analysts say Maduro is counting on the fresh faces to court young, uncommitted voters at a time when support for his socialist administration is being eroded by widespread shortages and triple-digit inflation. His United Socialist Party has mandated that half its candidates be under age 30 to match the demographics of Venezuela’s 19 million voters.
“The polls show it. People want to see young, new faces, new projects and fresh ideas,” Casanova told The Associated Press as he wrapped up campaigning in the western city of Barinas.
With the opposition heavily favoured to take control of congress for the first time since the late President Hugo Chavez was elected 16 years ago, Maduro’s government is counting on its superior ground game to rally its base among the poor, especially in far-flung rural areas where the economic crisis is more severe but the opposition has little reach.