Referendum vote goes to Chavez

Kick

eh.

Chavez is dangerous

] Voters defeated the sweeping measures by a vote of 51 percent to 49 percent, said Tibisay Lucena, chief of the National Electoral Council, with voter turnout just 56 percent. She said that with 88 percent of the votes counted, the trend was irreversible. “This was a photo finish," Chavez said immediately after the vote, adding that unlike past Venezuelan governments, his respects the people’s will. It was the first victory for an emboldened opposition against Chavez after nine years of electoral defeats. “Don’t feel sad," he urged his supporters, saying there were “microscopic differences” between the “yes” and “no” options in a referendum that Chavez’s opponents feared could have meant a plunge toward dictatorship. Chavez’s supporters had faith he would use the reforms to deepen grass-roots democracy and more equitably spread Venezuela’s oil wealth. The changes would have created new forms of communal property, let Chavez handpick local leaders under a redrawn political map, permit civil liberties to be suspended under extended states of emergency and allow Chavez to seek re-election indefinitely. Now, Chavez will be barred from running again in 2012. [url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071203/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/venezuela_constitution:
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See also: Democracy triumphs over a Chavez monarchy. Venezuelan president admits defeat in referendum Dec. 3, 2007 — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Monday admitted defeat in a referendum on constitutional changes held on Sunday.

] According to the National Electoral Council, 51 percent of voters voted against the changes with 49 percent in favor. The turnout was 56 percent, said Tibisay Lucena, chief of the National Electoral Council, adding that with 88 percent of the votes counted, the trend was irreversible. “This was a photo finish, and unlike past Venezuelan governments, my respects for the results have proved that I respect the people’s will, " said Chavez, who won re-election with 63 percent of the vote last year. “I tell you from the heart: for a few hours I debated with myself in a dilemma. I’ve now left the dilemma behind and I’m calm. I hope the Venezuelans are as well," he said. “Now, Venezuelans, let’s put our trust in our institutions," Chavez added. It was the first time since Chavez came to power in 1999 that he has lost at the polls. The constitutional changes proposed in the referendum, if approved, would have greatly expanded his powers and let him run for re-election indefinitely. [url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-12/03/content_7190690.htm:
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Chavez did in fact lose

] The National Electoral Council (CNE) early Monday said around 51 percent of the nine million voters opposed the constitutional changes, while approximately 49 percent supported them. Chavez told supporters not to be saddened at the result, saying the referendum showed that Venezuela’s democracy was maturing. The reaction was in sharp contrast to his earlier fiery rhetoric. The El Universal newspaper quoted Chavez as telling supporters gathered in Caracas before the vote, “Those who vote no are doing a favor to George W. Bush. Our real opponent, our real enemy is the U.S. Empire ... We are going to deal another knockout blow to the American imperialism. Nobody should forget that it is the backdrop of the battle." The outcome marked the first major electoral defeat for Chavez in nine years. He won elections in 1998, re-election in 2000 and 2006, and referendums in 1999 (on a new constitution) and 2000 (on trade union reform). In a 2004 plebiscite he defeated an attempt to recall him as president. Among the 69 proposed changes to the constitution, the most controversial included one that would have enabled Chavez to stay in power indefinitely, as long as he continued to win elections every seven years (presidential terms would also be increased from six to seven years.) [url=http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=/ForeignBureaus/archive/200712/INT20071203a.html:
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] “I understand and accept that the proposal I made was quite profound and intense," he said after voters narrowly rejected the sweeping constitutional reform by 51 percent to 49 percent. Opposition activists were ecstatic as the results were announced shortly after midnight - with 88 percent of the vote counted, the trend was declared irreversible by elections council chief Tibisay Lucena. Some shed tears. Others began chanting: “And now he’s going away!" But even a central opposition leader acknowledged Monday that it will be a hard slog to erode Chavez’s impressive power over the machinery of state. “We the opposition can’t, nor do we want, to present a project to compete with the government’s," Leopoldo Lopez, mayor of one of Caracas' wealthiest districts, told reporters. Foes of the reform effort - including Roman Catholic leaders, press freedom groups, human rights groups and prominent business leaders - said it would have granted Chavez unchecked power and imperiled basic rights. More [url:
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20071203/D8TA7BFO0.html[/url]