Caracas: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Friday that he has asked legislators to give him permission to return to Cuba for a second round of chemotherapy for his cancer.
The National Assembly`s secretariat announced that the body would hold a special session on Saturday to vote on authorisation for Chavez to leave the country.
The President said Venezuela is stable and people should be confident about the government during his absence.
Chavez, who said earlier in the day that his doctors were considering whether he should undergo the chemotherapy in Venezuela or in Cuba, said he planned to go to Cuba on Saturday after getting legislative approval.
He said he would undergo medical tests there on Sunday and Monday.
"There is no complication in the process," he said.
Chavez, 57, said earlier Friday on television that he had no plans to withdraw from the public eye while undergoing the chemotherapy. But he said he would have to lower his "public profile a little”.
He underwent surgery in Cuba in June to remove a tumour from his pelvic region. He has not disclosed what kind of cancer was found.
Bureau Report
