Venezuela: Chavez urges quick action to end term limits (Updated)

UPDATES: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says he expects a referendum in February on a constitutional amendment which would let him seek indefinite re-election. Mr Chavez, who announced his intention to run again over the weekend, has said he hopes to remain in power until 2021. He narrowly lost a referendum on the issue last December, and under the present rules must stand down in 2013. The announcement comes a week after his United Socialist Party ceded ground to the opposition in regional elections. The opposition won control of five states in the polls, including the two most populous, and won the mayoral election in Caracas. Mr Chavez's supporters nevertheless retained 17 of the country's 22 governorships. Double jeopardy: In a televised speech on Tuesday, Mr Chavez said he expected Venezuelans to vote in early next year on the constitutional changes necessary to allow the president to stand for indefinite re-election.  "At the end of February, I think we should be ready for the referendum," he said.   Mr Chavez can propose holding a referendum to the electoral authority only if he collects 2.5 million signatures supporting it, or if the request is supported by 30% of Congress, which is currently dominated by his allies. The electoral authority is required to call a referendum 30 days after receiving a successful proposal. Mr Chavez did not say which method he would use. Mr Chavez unveiled his plans for a referendum on Sunday....The opposition says it will attempt to block a referendum on indefinite re-election by arguing that the same issue cannot be put to a referendum twice. However, the president's supporters argue that when he lost the referendum last year, people were voting on a whole series of constitutional reforms. The BBC's Will Grant in Caracas says it is far from clear whether Mr Chavez would win. Although his personal support is still over 50%, the opposition has been buoyed by its recent performances at the ballot box, our correspondent says.  Any vote on this question is therefore likely to be as close as the last, in which a few thousand votes separated each side, he adds.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez urged his supporters on Monday to move quickly on organizing a vote on abolishing term limits _ a change that could clear the way for him to stay in office another decade. The socialist president, who was first elected a decade ago, sought to abolish term limits last year, but Venezuelan voters rejected the measure in a package of proposed constitutional changes.
Analysts say Chavez is seeking another vote quickly because he hopes to capitalize on his current popularity in the face of a reinvigorated opposition and falling oil prices, which could force him to cut public spending in Venezuela's oil-dependent economy. In a televised speech, Chavez called for members of his party to start work this month in petitioning for a constitutional change that would let him run again in 2012. Chavez said he wanted the constitution amended in «December and January _ quick and well-done. «The truth is I wouldn't like to spend 2009 in a debate, a long campaign,» he said. «Today the battle for the constitutional amendment begins. It's unclear how soon the referendum could be held asking voters whether to approve the change. The new attempt to do away with term limits is expected to open a new front for tensions between government-backers and their rivals _ many of whom warn that Chavez wants to be president for life. If Chavez were to run again and win in 2012, he could be in office until 2019. Chavez's candidates won a majority of races in local elections last month but the opposition gained ground, winning key races. «While the opposition scored impressive victories in the recent regional elections, Chavez's candidates still won the majority of votes nationwide, so a bid to allow re-election could certainly prevail in 2009,» said John Walsh, an analyst at the Washington Office on Latin America, a non-governmental organization. «And with declining oil prices threatening to harm the Venezuelan economy, better from Chavez's perspective to act sooner rather than later. After reaching a historic high of high of almost $150 a barrel over the summer, oil is currently trading below $50 a barrel. Oil provides roughly half of government revenue in Venezuela.