Chavez, rival appeal for high election turnout

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called on his followers Wednesday to give him a crushing victory in weekend elections, while rival Henrique Capriles was confident of pulling an upset. The two candidates pleaded with voters to turn out en masse in Sunday's election as they held huge rallies in separate states, on the second to last day of legal campaigning. "Don't let your guard down," Chavez told throngs of supporters clad in red in the northern city of Maracay. "I beg all of you, don't be caught up in triumphalism. We will win, but we haven't won yet." Chavez said he wanted an "overwhelming" victory to "neutralize the desperate plans of the bourgeoisie... which already intends to not recognize the people's victory." The leftist leader, who survived cancer, has intensified his campaign as he faces the biggest electoral challenge in his almost 14 years in power. While Chavez is still favored to win, Capriles closed the gap by half to 10 points in an opinion poll last month. "Each one of you must overcome fear, beat obstacles, and on Sunday we will win," Capriles, a former Miranda state governor, said at a rally in the northwestern town of Guanare. Meanwhile, Venezuelan soldiers transported election material to polling stations, including electronic voting machines. The head of a South American observer mission said Venezuela has fulfilled the basic conditions to hold a transparent election, as the results will be trustworthy while security will be assured. Former Argentine vice president Carlos Alvarez said the mission, sent by the Union of South American Nations, or UNASUR, would launch a campaign to dismiss any rumors of plans to sabotage the election and ensure that "nobody cries fraud" when official results are published. Schools closed on Tuesday while the government said alcohol sales will be banned from Friday.