2009 Venezuelan constitutional referendum

The 2009 referendum was a vote in which the citizens of Venezuela approved Amendment No. 1 (Enmienda No. 1) of the Constitution of Venezuela; this abolished term limits for the offices of President, state governors, mayors and National Assembly deputies.

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The current constitution, enacted in 1999 by referendum, previously established a three-term limit for deputies and a two-term limit for the other offices. The proposed amendment was put to a referendum on 15 February 2009[1] and endorsed by 54% of the electorate, with approximately 70% of registered voters participating.[2] Upon having his term limits removed, Chávez promised to supporters that he would lead Venezuela until 2030.[3]

Background

A proposal for an important change in the main structure of the Constitution, that included abolishing presidential term limits among major social, economical and political changes was rejected in 2007 when university students led protests and played a critical role in the result;[4] President Hugo Chávez had said the reform was needed to implement his socialist program. Chávez conceded defeat by saying "for now, we couldn't" ("por ahora no pudimos"),[5][6] echoing the phrase he used after the failure of his February 1992 attempted coup d'état against the Carlos Andrés Pérez government.[7]

On 30 November 2008, six days after broadening support in regional elections, Hugo Chávez decided that it was the opportunity to seek continuous presidential terms,[3] announcing on television that he would be open to a new wave of discussion on the proposal for allowing the postulation without limits to presidential candidature.[8] A National Electoral Council supportive of Chávez quickly accepted elections, scheduling the referendum a little over a month after the regional elections for February 2009.[3]

The following day, his supporters started working towards a constitutional amendment for this goal.[9] Chávez utilized successful managers from PDVSA to lead his referendum campaign.[3] He also offered the abolition of term limits to governors and other officials who supported his removal of term limits.[3] The Chávez administration then distributed many free kitchen and household appliances to his supporters beside flyers stating "Chávez loves us and love is repaid with love" and "Chávez is incapable of doing us harm".[3]

Provisions of the amendment

The full title of the law was Amendment No. 1 of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Enmienda No. 1 de la Constitucion de Republica Bolivariana de Venezuela). It was approved by a majority of the members of the National Assembly. The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (Chávez's political party) states that the initiative was backed by more than six million people.[10] The amendment affects Articles 160, 162, 174, 192 and 230 of the constitution. They are amended as follows:[11]

Previous Current

Article 160: The governor shall be elected for a four-year term by the majority of the votes cast. The governor may be re-elected immediately and only once for one more term.

Article 160: The governor shall be elected for a four-year term by the majority of the votes cast. The governor may be re-elected.

Article 162: The regional legislators shall be elected for a maximum of two terms in a row.

Article 162: The regional legislators may be re-elected.

Article 174: The mayor shall be elected for a four-year term by the majority of the votes cast and may be re-elected immediately and only once for one more term.

Article 174: The mayor shall be elected for a four-year term by the majority of the votes cast and may be re-elected.

Article 192: The deputies for the National Assembly are elected for a five-year term with the possibility of re-election for a maximum of two terms in a row.

Article 192: The deputies for the National Assembly are elected for a five-year term with the possibility of re-election.

Article 230: The presidential term of office lasts six years. The President of the Republic may be re-elected immediately and only once for one more term.

Article 230: The presidential term of office lasts six years. The President of the Republic may be re-elected.

Article 341 of the constitution, which governs amendments, states that "amendments shall be numbered consecutively and shall be published beneath the Constitution without altering the text of the latter". Therefore, the 2009 amendment has not altered the original text of the constitution. Rather, Amendment No.1 (including new texts for each of the five amended articles) is published below the original text as a codicil.[12]

Referendum question

The question elaborated by the National Electoral Council was:[13]

Do you approve the amendment of articles 160, 162, 174, 192 and 230 of the Constitution of the Republic, as processed by the National Assembly, which increases the political rights of the people, with the purpose of allowing any citizen incumbent in an elected office, to be nominated as candidate for the same office, for the period of time established constitutionally, his or her possible re-election depending exclusively on popular vote?

Results

Opinion polls conducted on the measure in December 2008 varied widely, with results ranging from 32% approval (with 61% disapproval)[14] to 51% approval (with 39% disapproval).[15][16] The final results were as follows:

Venezuelan constitutional referendum, 2009[17]
Choice Votes %
Yes 6,310,482 54.85
No 5,193,839 45.15
Valid votes 11,504,321 98.24
Invalid or blank votes 206,419 1.76
Total votes 11,710,740 100.00
Registered voters and turnout 16,652,179 70.33

These figures were given in the second partial official bulletin, issued when canvassing reached a 98.81% of the votes. The trends are deemed to be irreversible.[18] Final results are awaited in the following days.

Reaction

Opposition
Billboards supporting the Yes campaign in Caracas.

The initial reaction of the opposition to the referendum proposal was that it was illegal. Henry Ramos Allup, secretary general of the opposition party Acción Democrática called the proposal "'illegal and unconstitutional' because Article 345 says that 'A revised constitutional reform initiative may not be submitted during the same constitutional term of office of the National Assembly.'"[19] Chávez avoided this issue by declaring that the change to the constitution would be in the form of an amendment, instead of a constitutional reform. In addition, the constitutional amendment was re-defined to apply to all popular elected positions, not just to the president. Elenis Rodríguez Martínez, a leader of the opposition party Primero Justicia, stated that the proposed change constitutes a fundamental change to the constitution, and therefore cannot be voted as an amendment.[20] She stated that, "Under Article 340, 'the purpose of an amendment is to add to or modify one or more articles of the Constitution, without altering the fundamental structure of the same.' When the president says that he wants to delete some words from Article 230 of the Constitution, he is lying, because he really wants to remove an essential part of the text and in doing so he is altering its structure, as well as part of the provisions of Article 6, which reads that 'the government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is ... alternating' (...) This is a camouflaged reform."[20] However, the Constitutional Court ruled that such a change was within the scope of a constitutional amendment, and that such an amendment could be re-attempted each year.[21][22] The editors of Venezuelan publishing house Veneconomy argue that the 15 February date is too soon to comply with time-frames set forth by the suffrage law and related laws for the registration of voters newly turned-18 and for the organization of polling stations.[23]

Students protesting against the referendum. Caracas, Venezuela; 19 January 2009

Students again took a leading role in protests, as they did in the campaign against the 2007 referendum. On 16 January students blocked a Caracas highway, burned trees and taunted the police. After viewing video of the protests, Chávez gave the order: "Throw lots of (tear) gas at them, and take them prisoner for me. If you don't, I'm going to go after the authorities responsible."[4][24] Tensions rose in advance of the referendum, with a group of 40 armed men taking over the Caracas city hall, to which an opposition mayor had been elected in November, and declaring the building "recovered for the revolution". Tear gas was also thrown at the compound of the papal nuncio, who had granted asylum to an anti-Chávez student leader accused of sexual assault; and an anti-Chávez student leader's car was burned.[25]

Opposition figures have accused Chávez of using all the resources of the government to support the Yes campaign, ranging from near-total support for the Yes campaign on state radio and television to placement of Yes campaign ads on official ministry websites. According to opposition figure Leopoldo López, "we aren’t competing against a political party, we’re competing against an entire state and all of the power it can wield".[26] The opposition also says that No campaign ads have had their approval delayed and scheduling manipulated by the National Electoral Council.[27]

International

Following claims that US officials had met with Venezuelan opposition leaders in Puerto Rico (which the US denied),[28] Chávez accused U.S. President Barack Obama of meddling in the referendum, adding that "He's said I'm an obstacle for progress in Latin America... Therefore it must be removed, this obstacle, right?" Chávez also added that Obama was under pressure from the Pentagon to be tough on Venezuela by quoting: "He [Obama] knows that if he doesn't obey the orders of the empire, they'll probably kill him."[4]

President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva backed Hugo Chávez's proposal of a possible re-election and asked why nobody criticized Colombian President Álvaro Uribe, who was also proposing the removal of Colombia's current two-term limit,[29] having already removed the previous one-term limit, a move that made possible his re-election in 2006.[30]

International observers

Around 100 international observers were accredited to observe the vote, but neither the Organization of American States nor the European Union had official observers in Venezuela.[31] Observers from Latin American nations, European Parliament members, and European academics said that the ballot had been free and fair.[2] The United States Department of State spokesman Noel Clay praised the "civic spirit" of the referendum. He added that it was important that elected officials in Venezuela focused on "governing democratically".[32]

On 13 February 2009, the Venezuelan government expelled Luis Herrero, a Spanish member of the European Parliament (and member of the European People's Party), after he called Chávez a dictator and criticized Chávez's handling of the constitutional referendum. One of the parties in the opposition to Chávez had asked Herrero to observe the referendum.[33]

In April 2009, NACLA reported that its observers had found that "the voting in Venezuela’s 2009 referendum was, overall, fair, transparent, and clean."[34]

References
  1. "Chávez autoriza acciones para introducir reelección presidencial a través de una enmienda". YVKE Mundial. 20 November 2008. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2008.
  2. "Venezuelan leader wins key reform". BBC News. 16 February 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
  3. Rory, Carroll (2013). Comandante: The Life and Legacy of Hugo Chavez. Canongate Books. pp. 153–155. ISBN 9780857861535.
  4. Jones, Rachel (17 January 2009). "Chavez: Obama meddles in Venezuela term-limit vote". Associated Press. Retrieved 15 February 2009.
  5. Matthew Walter and Helen Murphy. Venezuelans Reject Chavez's Plans for Constitution (Update1). Bloomberg, 3 December 2007. Retrieved 3 December 2007.
  6. Peregil, F (3 December 2007). "Venezuela dice 'no' a la Constitución de Chávez". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 December 2007.
  7. Kofman, Jeffrey (3 December 2007). "Tension, Then Surprise, Chavez Loses Reform Vote". ABC Global News. Retrieved 3 December 2007.
  8. Grant, Will (30 November 2008). "Chavez announces re-election plan". BBC News. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  9. Márquez, Humberto (1 December 2008). "Venezuela: Reviving the Debate on Presidential Reelection". IPS. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  10. (in Spanish) 6.6 millones de firmas respaldan la propuesta de enmienda constitucional. Archived 16 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (16 January 2009). Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  11. (in Spanish) Entendiendo la pregunta de la Enmienda Constitucional. Archived 25 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine Gobierno Bolivariano de Venezuela: Mundial (19 January 2009). Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  12. Full text of the Constitution of Venezuela with Amendment No. 1 (Spanish)
  13. (in Spanish) convocado referendo aprobatorio de la Enmienda Constitucional para el 1 de Febrero. Archived 20 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine Gobierno Bolivariano de Venezuela: Consejo Nacional Electoral (16 January 2009). Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  14. (in Spanish)
  15. (in Spanish) Más de 51% aprobaría la enmienda Constitucional. Archived 8 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Agencia Bolivariano de Noticias (3 January 2009). Retrieved 20 January 2009. (Original URL)
  16. "Venezuelans Would Support Charter Amendments: Angus Reid Global Monitor". Angus-reid.com. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
  17. "Divulgación Referendos Revocatorios" (in Spanish). Consejo Nacional Electoral. 16 February 2009. Retrieved 23 June 2009.
  18. (in Spanish)Globovision.com - Amendment Approved Archived 17 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  19. Morgan, Jeremy; Russ Dallen. "Venezuela's Chávez Pushes For Indefinite Rule Again". Latin American Herald Tribune. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  20. Alonso, Juan Francisco; Translated by Gerardo Cárdenas. "Opposition party asks top court to stop amendment on endless reelection". Archived from the original on 20 June 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2009.
  21. Martínez, Eugenio G. (4 February 2009). "Presidente puede presentar enmiendas todos los años". El Universal (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 February 2009.; partial translation (4 February) Archived 8 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  22. "Fact Sheet: Constitutional Amendment in Venezuela" (PDF). Embajada de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela en Estados Unidos. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  23. editors of Veneconomy. "Veneconomy: Venezuela Chavez' Doubly Illegal and Unconstitutional Amendment". Retrieved 14 February 2009.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  24. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/01/18/news/LT-Venezuela-Referendum.php
  25. Kraul, Chris (20 January 2009). "Tensions build in Venezuela as Chavez prepares for referendum." Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  26. Bloomberg, 11 February 2009, Chavez Puts Venezuelan Government Behind Bid to Stay in Power
  27. "Francisco Toro: Chavez's All Out Push to be President for Life". Huffingtonpost.com. 9 February 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
  28. "Latin American Herald Tribune - U.S. Embassy Head Denies Plotting With Opposition in Venezuela". Laht.com. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
  29. Luigino Bracci. "Lula respalda una futura reelección de Hugo Chávez :: YVKE Mundial". Radiomundial.com.ve. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
  30. "Third Term for Uribe Threatens Colombian Democracy". World Politics Review. 5 February 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
  31. Sophie Nicholson (15 February 2009). "Venezuela vote expected to be close". AFP.
  32. "US welcomes Venezuela's term vote". BBC News. 17 February 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
  33. Nyberg, Per; Neill, Morgan; Penhaul, Karl (14 February 2009). "Venezuela ousts EU politician for insulting Chavez". CNN. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  34. NACLA, 23 April 2009, Debrief: New Report on Venezuela's Re-Election Referendum

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