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Court Ruling Boosts Venezuelan Opposition

Posted on: Monday, 1 September 2003, 06:00 CDT

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez cannot run in new elections if he loses a recall referendum later this year, the Supreme Court ruled in a decision released Monday.

Allowing a president to run immediately after losing a recall referendum would "defraud sovereign popular will," according to an excerpt of the ruling published on the Web site of the Globovision television network.

The Aug. 28 decision is a boost for Venezuela's splintered opposition, which has been unable to agree on a candidate to challenge Chavez. Recent opinion polls suggest Venezuelans would vote 2-1 to oust Chavez in a referendum - but indicate Chavez could win in an election against several opposition candidates.

Opponents of Chavez turned in almost 3 million signatures earlier this month to demand a referendum on ending his presidency.

Foes accuse Chavez of trying to amass power, fueling class hatred, and alienating investment with "revolutionary" rhetoric. The president says an "oligarchy" bent on ousting a democratically elected leader has sabotaged his efforts to fight for the poor.

Fresh elections must be held if Chavez loses a referendum within the first four years of his presidency. If the vote occurs in the last two years, Venezuela's vice president would serve out the remainder of Chavez's term. He is halfway through his six-term term.

Chavez's opponents want the vote held by the end of the year, arguing it would help stabilize a country where polarization over Chavez's leftist policies provoked a botched 2002 military coup and a crippling general strike earlier this year.

Several hurdles stand in the way of the vote, including verifying signatures, updating voter rolls and designating hundreds of regional election authorities.

Chavez has vowed to challenge the legality of the petition, insisting many of the signatures are forged.

Some Chavez supporters are insisting that referendums on the terms of other elected officials be held before the presidential one. There are dozens of referendum petitions pending in Venezuela's National Elections Council and the constitution does not specify how to prioritize them.

But National Elections Council President Francisco Carrasquero has raised opposition hopes by saying the presidential referendum should be a priority.

In an interview Sunday with El Universal newspaper, Carrasquero added it may not make sense to hold referendums on the terms of governors and mayors because regional elections are scheduled for July 2004 anyway.

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