By DPA
Caracas : Venezuelans went to the polls Sunday to vote in a referendum on changes to the country’s constitution, which if approved would allow a socialist form of government and the re-election of President Hugo Chavez for an unlimited number of times.
Polling stations opened at 6 a.m. local time and were scheduled to close 10 hours later.
Chavez, a left-wing populist, had his hands full in recent weeks, with sometimes violent protests against the proposed reforms at home and with a busy foreign relations agenda complete with high profile spats with Colombia and Spain.
An opinion poll said last week that support for the constitutional reform was dwindling and had fallen to just 30 percent, with the “no” vote on 41 percent.
The prolonged scarcity of some consumer goods – including milk, eggs, meat and bread – and doubts the reform has cast on private property rights appeared to affect the prospects for Chavez’s proposals.
However, Chavez has won all previous elections since he reached power in 1999 with at least 60 percent of the vote and has a broad popular base in a divided country.
More than 100,000 people Thursday attended a march against the reform in Caracas, but the president himself gathered thousands of supporters a day later.
In October, Venezuela’s National Assembly, which is fully controlled by Chavez supporters, approved a proposal by the president for the constitutional reforms. The controversial president claims the changes would install “21st century socialism” in Venezuela, and allow for a more effective fight against corruption.
Originally, Chavez wanted to modify 33 of the 350 articles in the Venezuelan Constitution, but the National Assembly added a further 36 modifications. The plan would allow unlimited number of terms in office of the president, the lengthening of the presidential term – from six to seven years – and the end to central bank autonomy.