23 de Enero, Caracas

El Comandante with his fist to his chest at the crowd - this is where he came to vote

[RCG 07/10/2012 - 2pm] In the historic barrio of 23 de Enero, Caracas, famous for its community organisation and collectives, we waited in the relentless sun with the crowds waiting for Chavez to come and vote, as is his tradition.

Chavez arrived around 1pm and addressed the crowds before heading in to deposit his vote as is the right of every Venezuelan or naturalised citizen in the country.

In the polling booth Chavez answered questions from the national and international press, affirming that the Bolivarian Revolution does not depend on one man, 'because this is not about individual leaderships anymore. Here, in Venezuela, there is youth.'

The polling booths will close at 6pm, then the vote will be counted automatically and manually, once an irreversible trend has been established, the CNE (National Electoral Council) will announce the preliminary results, the full results will be published the next day.

Sam McGill