[R-G] Chavez 'wins' Venezuela referendum

[Anthony Fenton]

   http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/02/200921602959722265.html 
	
News Americas
Chavez 'wins' Venezuela referendum

Critics say a Chavez victory would remove the last remaining check on  
his power [AFP]

Exit polls in Venezuela's referendum indicate that Hugo Chavez, the  
president, has won support to scrap term limits for elected officials,  
including himself.

Several pollsters gave the "yes" vote between 53 and 60 per cent on  
Sunday, meaning that Chavez could seek re-election indefinitely.

Polling stations remained opened past the official closing time to  
allow all voters already in line to cast their ballots.

More than 16 million Venezuelans were eligible to vote "Yes" or "No"  
in the fifth referendum since Chavez was first elected in 1999.

Festive mood

Al Jazeera's Mariana Sanchez, reporting from close to the presidential  
palace in Caracas, said there was a festive mood on the streets of the  
capital as Chavez supporters already began celebrating late on Sunday.

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But the head of the election commission called for calm, saying that  
official results were not out yet.

The referendum is Chavez's second attempt to remove the two-term cap  
for presidents. If approved, it would allow Chavez to seek election  
when his current second term in office ends in 2013.

After casting his vote at a polling station in a Caracas slum, Chavez  
promised to abide by the outcome.

"We'll recognise the result, whatever it is, once it is announced by  
the National Electoral Council," he said.

Chavez has previously described winning the vote as key to completing  
his transformation of Venezuela into a socialist state.

"On Monday I'll wake up looking beyond 2013," Chavez said. "That will  
give me more confidence in what we're doing ... and greatly diminish  
political uncertainties."

Popular among poor

Spearheaded by a student movement, the opposition's campaign slogan is  
"No is No," referring to Chavez's 2007 effort to push through  
constitutional changes that would extend his presidency.

Chavez lost that vote, his only electoral defeat in 10 years in office.

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"My certainty in victory is infinitely higher than on December 1,  
2007," Chavez said.

Chavez is popular with many of the country's poor for health and  
education programmes, but blamed by a vocal opposition for rising  
crime, corruption and inflation.

His opponents say a victory for Chavez in the referendum would remove  
the last remaining check on his power.

Oscar Perez, a representative of the opposition, called Chavez's  
government "fascist" and "intolerant".

The opposition says Chavez called the vote - which takes place only  
three months after the opposition gained ground in regional and  
municipal elections - before the country feels the impact of falling  
oil prices, the main source of funding for the president's social  
programmes.

With a strong grasp on the private media, the opposition has focused  
its campaign on the importance of alternating power for democracy in  
their campaign, and accused Chavez of abusing state resources to fund  
a massive "Yes" campaign.

Voters undecided

Rob Winder, also reporting for Al Jazeera from Caracas, said both  
campaigns appeared confident that they can claim victory, but that the  
"Yes" camp believed more of their supporters were turning out to vote.

He said while groups of young Chavez supporters patrolled the streets  
on motorcycles, the "No" campaign seemed to have adopted a low-key  
approach, concentrating instead on monitoring how the vote has been  
conducted.

About 100 international observers have been accredited to observe the  
referendum, but neither the Organisation of American States (OAS) nor  
the European Union have official observers in Venezuela.