MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Venezuela's Chavez wins unlimited re-election vote

Chavez: “This has been a great victory of the people”

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has won the Sunday referendum to eliminate term limits, paving the way for a new re-election in 2012 - and beyond - and push through his vision of a Socialist nation

Fireworks exploded in the sky after Sunday's win and Chavez supporters celebrated in the streets, waving red flags and honking horns. With 94% of the vote counted, 54% had voted in favour of the constitutional amendment, announced National Electoral Council chief Tibisay Lucena. 46% had voted against the measure to eliminate term limits on all public officials, too few to make up the distance with the remaining votes. "Today we opened wide the gates of the future. Venezuela will not return to its past of indignity," Chavez proclaimed after singing the national anthem from the balcony of his Miraflores palace. "This has been a great victory of the people of Venezuela, a great victory for the revolution", he added. People voting "yes" said Chavez has given poor Venezuelans cheap food, free education and quality health care, and empowered them with a discourse of class struggle after decades of US-backed governments that favoured the rich. No successor has emerged, and voters said they worry their gains will vanish if Chavez leaves office. People voting "no" said Chavez already has far too much power, with the courts, the legislature and the election council all under his influence. Removing the 12-year presidential term limit he pushed through in a 1999 referendum, they said, would make him unstoppable Chavez took office in 1999 and won support for a new constitution the same year that allowed the president to serve two six-year terms, barring him from the 2012 elections. Sunday's vote was his second attempt to change that. Voters rejected a broader referendum in December 2007. Venezuela has seen 15 elections or referendums in Chavez's decade, which Chavez supporters say proves his dedication to democracy.