An absurd deadline - recall petition has one day to collect signatures

How's this for logic: Because elections last only one day, supporters of a recall referendum should have only one day to gather enough signatures to make the petition valid. If that rule prevailed -- in Venezuela, California, Florida or elsewhere -- no signature drive would ever attract enough support. It would put an end to a basic feature of grass-roots democracy.

But the lack of common sense in this absurd proposition isn't likely to stop President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, whose idea it is, from trying to make it stick. His objective is to block the drive to keep Venezuela's voters from casting an up-or-down vote on his presidency.

Nor is the absence of any provision in Venezuelan law that establishes this time limit likely to deter Mr. Chávez. The president's opponents, who are demanding a referendum on his tumultuous presidency as a peaceful way to resolve an increasingly tense crisis, rightly insist that imposing a time limit would curtail their political rights.

This isn't the first time that Mr. Chávez and his supporters have attempted to stop the recall. Government opponents often have been targets of threats and harassment. The president usually sets the tone. In one recent declaration, he said opponents have a ``great capacity for cheating.''

Earlier, the National Elections Council rejected for technical reasons a recall petition with more than three million voter signatures. Opponents say that the new signature drive will begin on Oct. 5. We hope that the council will show its impartiality by giving the referendum backers what would be in any democracy a reasonable and fair amount of time.

Venezuelans are bitterly divided over the Chávez presidency. Since the president claims to be a populist, he should favor giving voters a free and clear choice by way of a referendum. But in today's Venezuela, such logic seems to be in short supply, at least in official circles.

Venezuela Election Body Sets Referendum Rules [Full Text] CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan election officials late on Thursday cleared the way for a fresh opposition bid to challenge leftist President Hugo Chavez at the ballot box by approving rules for a possible referendum on his mandate.

But the regulations set by the National Electoral Council, which recently rejected an initial opposition petition for a referendum, effectively pushed back any vote on Chavez's presidency into early next year.

National Electoral Council President Francisco Carrasquero said the rules give the five-member board 97 days to verify voter signatures in any new petition and set a poll date if the request is approved.

After more than a year of conflict over Chavez's rule, the Organization of American States put together an accord between the government and opposition that proposed a referendum to end the strife.

A former paratrooper elected in 1998 on promises to erase poverty, Chavez portrays his political enemies as elites bent on halting his reforms for the nation's most needy. Foes say his rule has edged Venezuela toward economic ruin and Cuba-style communism.

Earlier this month the electoral council rejected the original poll petition, which had more than 3 million signatures, as technically flawed. It was a temporary victory for Chavez, who survived a brief coup last year and is fiercely resisting the opposition campaign.

Carrasquero said the council would allow 20 days to prepare signature-collection centers and give the opposition four days to gather the signatures it needs to demand a referendum.

The opposition had planned a second collection of signatures starting Oct. 5 to repeat the referendum request. But it was unclear whether they would go ahead.

Venezuela's constitution requires the signatures of at least 20 percent of registered voters - 2.4 million signatures -- to trigger a referendum.

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Chavez's election board will allow opponents 4 days to gather signatures for a recall and then they'll take 97 days to approve them.

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Hugo Chavez - Venezuela

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