Monday, 3 December, 7:29 a.m.
By Enrique Andres Pretel and Patricia Rondon
CARACAS (Reuters) - President Hugo Chavez took office on Monday, his first electoral defeat in nearly nine years in power , after his controversial constitutional reform was rejected by a narrow margin in the referendum held on Sunday in Venezuela.
However, the president said during a televised address to the country that his proposal, which sought to broaden his powers and eliminate presidential term limits, remains "alive," leaving the door open to re-emphasize to the project .
After long hours of waiting, the National Electoral Council (CNE) reported data of polling in the early hours of Monday, which gave a favorable result to the "No" by 50.7 percent, with a high abstention rate of 44 percent.
"A recommendation (the opposition) know how to administer his victory (...) (...) not runaway now is not that I give it, no. You won it and it's yours, but I that Pyrrhic victory would not have wanted, "said Morales, who looked tired but calm in front of television cameras.
student groups and representatives of the heterogeneous "No Block" melted into hugs and tears of joy when they heard the first bulletin election, while in the streets of Caracas drivers could be heard honking their horns.
"This reform would entail some changes frightening for our country, it would be practically a copy of that of Cuba. That was a total delay in our democracy," said Astrid Badell, 18, while a whistle sounded loud to celebrate the defeat of Chavez
This is a hard blow to Chavez, who turned the campaign into a referendum on his administration to warn that anyone who voted against the proposal was voting against him and his "socialist revolution."
"Venezuela said no to socialism, Venezuela I said yes to democracy, "said Leopoldo Lopez, mayor of a capital district and belonging to the opposition.
Although several members of the ruling party had advanced during the day that the results were favorable to the choice of" yes to the reform, the advantage was reduced until the "No" won in the final by a few votes.
"This result has two sides to Chavez. Is defeated after a vigorous campaign plebiscite, but get rid of the accusation of being a dictator, "said Luis Vicente Leon, director of pollster Datanálisis.
" We try to minimize the political cost and seek an alternative to achieve continuous re-election before the end of his term, which could be through a constituent assembly, "added the analyst.
Along with the electoral defeat, Chávez will have to deal with the bitter controversy over Colombia and Spain-two Governments with which it has "frozen" relations despite that formerly considered staunch allies, and some analysts saw as part of their campaign strategy.
WHY NOW?
reelected last December with more than 60 percent of the vote, the popular president on Sunday suffered their first defeat since his overwhelming electoral victory in 1998 and could not submitted to his third term in 2013, since the current constitution only allows two terms.
however, did not consider Chavez defeated his project, promising to accelerate the implementation of socialism in Venezuela.
"There is no defeat, for me this is another 'for now, now,' and I say here what I have chosen well, it was better that way," he said, repeating the phrase that was released in his attempted coup d'etat in 1992, when he also acknowledged that "for now" had failed.
Unlike other elections, pre-election polls did not give an unambiguous trend and showed a tie between "Yes" and "No," which became the most contested election in recent years in the country.
reform, in addition to providing a way for Chavez to be a candidate in the upcoming election, extending his term of 6 to 7 years and expanded his powers in a wide range of subjects, including naming authorities and handle regional international reserves.
From 04.00 local time (0800 GMT), the officer pulled from beds to voters with a touch of Diana, fireworks and alarms, with orders to vote early. The day passed without incident, with some dozens of young detainees election crimes.
While Chavez defended his reform would give more power to the people, his opponents claimed it was an instrument to perpetuate itself in power and control the country.
The reform also provided for items such as reducing working hours, provide social security for millions of employees in the informal sector, to implement different types of social property and give the president the management of the Central Bank's international reserves, which would be autonomous.
(By Enrique Andres Pretel and Patricia Rondon, reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez, Fabian Cambero and Deisy Buitrago; Edited by Alejandro Lifschitz)
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Source: http://ar.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/071203/titulares/portada_venezuela_referendo_sol
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