Venezuelan election authorities: Referendum on constitutional amendment viable in February
3/12/2008 17:43
The National Electoral Council (CNE) said yesterday it would be viable to
call a referendum next February on a constitutional amendment that would allow
more terms for the president.
Yaneth Hernandez, CNE vice director, said
however that just when a referendum would be held would depend on the process of
collecting signatures.
"Immediately after the collection, those signatures
will be verified," Hernandez said.
An amendment referendum proposal by law
can be activated either by collecting at least 2.5 million signatures supporting
the measure or through a request backed by 30 percent of Congress
members.
Once the proposal is submitted to the CNE, it should call a
referendum within 30 days.
President Hugo Chavez announced Monday he would
propose a constitutional amendment to legitimize his re-election bid. But he did
not say which method, namely, by signature collection or congressional request,
he would adopt.
Xinhua
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