Can Chavez run again? Venezuelans decide in vote

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Hugo Chavez, already a decade in power, tried for a second time to win the right to seek re-election far into the future with a referendum Sunday widely regarded as a way to cement socialism in Venezuela.

Critics say removing term limits on the president and all other officials would distort democracy. Chavez — first elected in 1998 — said the proposed constitutional amendment would deepen democracy by giving voters more choice. He pointed out that Franklin Roosevelt was elected U.S. president four times.

"Ten years is nothing. I don't know what they're complaining about," he said Saturday.

The current constitution, itself created by a Chavez-backed referendum in 1999, allows two six-year terms.

The blare of recorded bugles blasted Venezuelans awake before dawn and long lines formed as the polls opened at 6 a.m. National Electoral Council official German Yepez said the vote was progressing normally.

Pre-election polls show the race is tight, and those waiting to cast their ballots said the future of their country is at stake.

Yira Guerra, 52, said that thanks to Chavez, her two children have access to free higher education.

"My son has obtained a bachelor's degree," Guerra said proudly, adding that she fears such advances will be lost under another leader.

Others say allowing Chavez to extend his time in office even if he has to win repeated elections is dangerous.

"We don't want anybody to stay perpetually in power," said Carmen Gilarte, a 50-year old mother of three who complained of government corruption and rampant crime.

"We have to give opportunities to the next generation," she said.

Without a constitutional amendment, Chavez will have to leave office in 2013. He lost a broader referendum in December 2007 that also sought to abolish presidential term limits, and says nothing is stopping him from trying again if he loses this time.

Chavez says he needs the amendment to seek re-election in 2012 and complete Venezuela's transition to socialism — a process he has said could take another decade or more.

"It's a little change in the constitution. But the fact that it's little doesn't mean it won't have great repercussions in Venezuela and beyond," Chavez said.

Supporters of a "no" vote say a Chavez victory would remove the last remaining check on the president's power. Since the opposition boycotted the 2005 congressional elections, the Chavez-dominated National Assembly has packed The Supreme Court and National Electoral Council with Chavez allies, they say — giving the socialist leader almost total control.

A "no" vote could embolden the opposition ahead of next year's congressional vote.