Hugo Chavez to seek re-election in 2012 despite cancer treatment

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will seek another six-term in an election next year despite recent surgery to remove a cancerous tumour, he told state newspaper Correo del Orinoco in an interview published on Sunday.

The 56-year-old socialist leader returned to Venezuela late on Saturday a week after leaving for chemotherapy in Cuba, saying no malignant cells were found and that he was arriving home in better health than when he left.

"I have medical reasons, scientific reasons, human reasons, reasons of love and political reasons to keep myself at the front of the government and the candidacy with more force than before," Chavez said.

News that he underwent an operation in Havana last month to remove a baseball-sized tumour has called into question his long-term health and his fitness to run for re-election next year in the OPEC nation of 29 million people.

A former soldier whose workaholic leadership style and image of invincibility have helped him win numerous votes, Chavez is visibly weakened as he plans his re-election bid.

Parliamentary elections last September showed the South American country split between Chavez supporters and opponents. A fractious opposition coalition senses a chance to unseat the convalescing leader in 2012.