(Reuters) - Hugo Chavez loyalists blew bugles in a wake up call for voters on Sunday as the Venezuelan leader faced the biggest electoral challenge yet to his socialist rule from a young rival tapping into discontent over crime and cronyism.
Henrique Capriles, a centrist state governor, edged toward the still-popular Chavez in final polls thanks to a vigorous campaign that united the opposition and made him its best chance of ending the president's 14-year tenure.
Chavez has used record oil revenue to support ideological allies around the world while preaching a fiercely anti-American line, so the election is being watched eagerly from the United States to Belarus and Iran.
Queues formed at some polling centers long before they opened, and despite a few delays voting was going smoothly.
"The battle has started!" the flamboyant former soldier wrote in an early morning rallying cry on Twitter. "Today we will write another chapter in history."
Chavez loyalists in poor neighborhoods, where he draws his most fervent following, blew bugles and trumpets in the predawn wake-up call. In the center of Caracas, some red-clad fans shouted "Long live Chavez!" from the back of trucks.
Chavez, 58, staged a remarkable comeback from cancer this year. But he could not match the energy of past campaigns - or the pace set by his 40-year-old basketball-loving opponent.
"Today we decide the future of our Venezuela," Capriles said on Twitter. "Today we are millions of Davids! God will be our guide," he added, referring to his depiction of the vote as the biblical underdog's battle against Goliath.
Capriles had prepared for the election by hiking a mountain trail on the edge of Caracas on Saturday, donning sports gear and mirrored sunglasses and posing for pictures with supporters.
