Hugo Chavez, a former paratrooper, has been riding high on a wave of popular discontent with the traditional political parties blamed for years of falling living standards. He accuses them of corruption and mismanagement of the country's vast oil wealth.

For the first time in more than 40 years neither of the two main centrist parties which have traditionally dominated Venezuelan politics have put forward a candidate.

American educated: Henrique Salas main opponent

Mr Chavez's populist rhetoric has brought him support with the masses, but his authoritarian background has provoked fears within Venezuela's business establishment

They are backing the independent candidate Henrique Salas Romer, an American-educated businessman who built a reputation for efficiency during his time as governor of the industrial state of Carabobo.

As polling day nears, tensions are rising with leading candidates heightening their exchanges of bitter accusations.

Recent opinion polls have given Mr Chavez a significant lead but observers consider the outcome of the race to still be wide open.

Falling economy

In the last ten years the global slump in oil prices has badly affected the economy of the oil-rich country and living standards have taken a battering.

Mr Chavez has promised a new start, a new constitution, what he calls "clean government" and a more egalitarian society.

But critics say Mr Chavez, who led a failed coup attempt in 1992, is a disguised anti-democratic strong-man and is ill prepared to tackle the country's economic problems.

Opinion polls have been favouring Mr Chavez by between eight and 12 points.