Hugo Chavez registered as presidential candidate

Thousands of supporters thronged the streets of Caracas Monday to join cancer-stricken Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as he registered to seek reelection amid ongoing concerns about his health, the AFP reports.

The president sought to play down any concerns he might seek to extend his long-ruling socialist government -- which has nationalized strategic industries and heaped praise on Cuba's Communist model -- even if he lost at the polls.

"As a player in the political game, I have come here and I commit, before Venezuela and the world, to recognize the outcome of the presidential election" on October 7, said the 57-year-old Chavez.

If he were to be reelected and serve out his term through 2019, Chavez would end up having been in officer for 20 years.