Venezuela's election chief says President Hugo Chavez has won a referendum to eliminate term limits, paving the way for him to run again in 2012
Venezuela's election chief says President Hugo Chavez has won a referendum to eliminate term limits, paving the way for him to run again in 2012.
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National Electoral Council chief Tibisay Lucena says with 94 per cent of the vote counted, 54 per cent have backed the president's proposal. That trend is irreversible.
Firecrackers exploded as pro-Chavez caravans circled the city with horns blaring after the announcement on Sunday night (local time). Chavez appeared on the balcony of his presidential palace to sing the national anthem.
Chavez had defended the referendum saying that after a tumultuous decade in power he needed more time to transform Venezuela into a socialist state.
"Today my political destiny is being decided," Chavez said. "The future of the country is at stake."
People voting "yes" said Chavez has given poor Venezuelans cheap food, free education and quality health care, and empowered them with a discourse of class struggle after decades of US-backed governments that favored the rich. No successor has emerged, and voters said they worry their gains will vanish if Chavez leaves office.
"If Chavez loses, his social achievements will all disappear," said Richard Mijares, a 40-year-old secretary.
People voting "no" said Chavez already has far too much power, with the courts, the legislature and the election council all under his influence. Removing the 12-year presidential term limit he pushed through in a 1999 referendum, they said, would make him unstoppable.
"If he wins he'll be unleashed and he'll make us like Cuba, because that's what he really wants," said Adriana Hernandez, a 19-year-old engineering student. "He'll create laws by decree, and go after private property."
Chavez took office in 1999 and won support for a new constitution the same year that allowed the president to serve two six-year terms, barring him from the 2012 elections. Yesterday's vote was his second attempt to change that. Voters rejected a broader referendum in December 2007.
Chavez pledged to respect the results, whatever they are, and warned his opponents u2014 whom he calls "sore losers" u2014 that they had better do the same.
"Any attempt to take us down the path of violence, by failing to recognize the results of the people's will, will be neutralised," he proclaimed.
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