My disease is no more: Venezuelan President Chavez

Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez has declared that he has overcome his illness, dismissing allegations that any physical ailment will affect his campaigning for the country’s upcoming elections.

“Free, free, totally free,” Chavez told reporters at a four-hour press conference on Monday when asked if he was still afflicted with cancer.

“Thanks to God, I am here and every day I feel [I am] in [a] better physical condition, and I really don’t think this expression ‘physical restrictions’… will be a factor in the campaign,” he told the conference.

Chavez, who has been in power since 1999, launched his re-election bid for the October 7 presidential polls on June 11.

Since June 2011, the Venezuelan president has undergone surgeries in Cuba to remove cancerous tumors from his pelvic region.

He also promised to resume his presidential campaigning from Thursday, saying “Now is when I’m stepping into the action. Our offensive begins right now.”

“Chavez is back in the street, the Bolivarian hurricane!” he said, referring to Simon Bolivar, the country’s independence hero.

Opinion polls show Chavez, who is seeking his third term in office, leading his 39-year-old rival Henrique Capriles.