Posted on 12/02/2007 9:37:41 PM PST by james500
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez lost a tight vote on Sunday in a referendum on giving him new powers and scrapping term limits on his left-wing rule.
The national electoral authority said early on Monday the "No" camp won 51 percent of the vote compared to the pro-Chavez "Yes" camp's 49 percent.
It said the trend could not be reserved and declared Chavez the loser.
The referendum vote on a raft of reforms would have allowed Chavez to run for reelection indefinitely, control Venezuela's foreign currency reserves, appoint loyalists over regional elected officials and censor the media if he declares an emergency.
Chavez has said he wants to rule for life and turn Venezuela into a socialist state. But defeat will likely put the Cuba ally under intense pressure to slow or halt his self-declared socialist revolution and step down when his term ends in 2013.
Chavez called the referendum vote "a photo finish".
(Additional reporting by Fabian Andres Cambero, Patricia Rondon and Jorge Silva, Writing by Saul Hudson; Editing by Kieran Murray)
Puto Chavez will not give up. His term is not up until 2013. That gives him plenty of time to try this again, in one form or another.
Hey now! Some of those votes were found in a closet in ALASKA!
Good news for now. Chavez will just run the referendum again next year (he has until 2013 in office)and again until he does win.
I think we will see a lot of Venezuelan economic refugees in the years to come.
Rule .303!
I wouldn’t count on it. Chavez plays by his rules. Maybe last minute turn in the vote? Hummm
Provision or not, it won't be pretty.
“It said the trend could not be reserved and declared Chavez the loser.”
s/b
“It said the trend could not be reversed and declared Chavez the loser.”
A big thank you, Ernest. The Miami Herald site had three or four articles about the vote, of various ages, but nothing up to date.
The Gateway Pundit reports that the Dictator Chavez claims to have won.
**************************EXCERPT***********************
CHAVEZ WINS!!!
Aljazeera reports:
Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president, is heading for victory in a referendum on allowing him to remain in power as long as he keeps winning elections, two government-linked sources said citing exit polls.
Reuters reports that Government Sources have confirmed that Chavez has won.
Sky News and China News are reporting the win for Chavez.
Ahmadinejad ought to be calling soon for congrats.
Daniel in Venzuela says it is not yet over- the mess is growing.
Miguel is reporting that the Chavistas have withdrawn their congratulatory ad for the papers tomorrow.
Not much surprises me any more, but I am absolutely shocked at this news!
The US needs to relieve him of duty, clean out his Arab terrorists and Russian “advisors”, cancel the Kalishnikov factories and advanced fighter purchases, and help Columbia wipe out the “insurgents” currently being supported and trained by Chavez.
Oh, and blow his head off on TV. I wanna see that.
Extraordinarily well said!
Well at least that’s what Hugo and his minions are saying over and over again!
Chavez is a snake. I find it hard to believe that this
is the end of it.
Will they end up handcuffed in the Atlantic Ocean? Oh, my bad, that was Argentina!
Oh No the Communist on DU are going to be angry. The USA sent the CIA and just ruined their socialist party. That is there story and they will stick to it.
No Really, Bush fixed the vote and I'm a God.
I'll live forever or die trying
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