Venezuela's opposition group not to boycott referendum
|
| Posted
:
Thu, 29 Nov 2007 07:47:02 GMT |
| By
:
IANS |
| Category
:
World |
| News Alerts by
Email ( click
here ) |
|
|
|
|
|
Caracas, Nov 29 - The self-styled National Resistance Command (CNR) of Venezuela has said it will not boycott the weekend referendum on constitutional changes made by President Hugo Chavez, Spanish news agency EFE reported Thursday.The opposition group said rather than boycotting the referendum it would head to the polls 'under protest' and vote against the overhaul.'We have to admit that there's another viewpoint that is of participation, which has gained force and acceptance among Venezuelans, and it would be foolish to keep swimming against the current,' CNR leader Antonio Ledezma said.He said his group still believes the 'fraudulent apparatus' that the government has set up in the CNE (National Electoral Council) has not yet been dismantled.The CNR is confident that the 'vast majority of Venezuelans' oppose the proposed constitutional changes, Ledezma said.The CNR's decision comes a day after one of the two parties that once dominated Venezuelan politics, Democratic Action, announced that it would stop calling for a boycott and instead urge citizens to vote against the overhaul.The developments leave the radical anti-Chavez faction Fuerza Solidaria as the only group still advocating a boycott of Sunday's referendum.The two strongest opposition parties, UNT and Justice First, are leading the campaign for a 'no' vote.Proposed amendments include elimination of presidential term limits, a new territorial arrangement, a 36-hour-work week and the creation of new types of property alongside the existing categories of private and public.Another measure would give the government the right to suspend due process and press freedom during a state of emergency.Chavez says the changes to the current constitution, approved in a referendum in 1999, will give 'more power to the people' and help expand the project he calls 'socialism of the 21st century'.Meanwhile, opposition parties, the business community, the Catholic hierarchy and even some long-time allies of the president reject the amendments, saying they will grant Chavez virtually unchecked powers. (c) Indo-Asian News Service
|
|
|
|
|
|
Related News
Death toll rise to 5 in Andorra tunnel building accident Andorra la Vella - The death toll in the collapse of a steel scaffolding in a tunnel under construction in the tiny mountain principality of Andorra rose Sunday to five, officials reported. Three workers were reported dead after the accident on Satur...
Kenyans lead procession in Athens Classic Marathon Athens - Kipkurui Joephat led a procession of Kenyans to victory in the Athens Classic Marathon on Sunday while Japan's Ozaki Akemi won the women's race. Much of the 42.195km race was run in heavy rain, as Josephat led the triple Kenyan sweep with a ...
Two dead after tunnel collapse in Andorra Andorra - At least two construction workers died when a traffic tunnel collapsed in the small south-western European country of Andorra Saturday, Spanish radio broadcaster RNE reported. Search efforts are underway in the rubble for five workers. Four...
CHRONOLOGY: Seemingly minor events in early 1989 led to big changes November 9, 1989 - The Berlin Wall falls after a Politburo member says at a press conference that new travel laws are to take immediate effect. Thousands of East Berliners throng to West Berlin. Shortly before midnight the first barriers open at the...
UN: Peacekeepers involved in sexual abuse being punished Geneva - Some 50 United Nations peacekeepers implicated in cases of sexual abuse have been disciplined and punished over the past three years, a spokeswoman for the world body said Friday. This year alone 33 military personnel implicated in cases of ...
Zelaya rejects government of national unity in Honduras Tegucigalpa, Honduras - Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said Friday that he regards the deal to end the political crisis in Honduras as having failed. The deal - brokered by the United States and by the Organization of American States (OAS) a...
Lithuanian president rejects US ice dancer's citizenship bid Vilnius - US ice dancing star Katherine Leigh Copely has lost her bid to gain Lithuanian citizenship and thus her ability to represent Lithuania in next year's Olympics. Copley's application for Lithuanian citizenship was rejected by the Baltic state...
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Venezuela's referendum
By:
Samuel Fiol ,
Sun, 02 Dec 2007 20:16:48 GMT
|
|
If Chavez stays in power, the beautiful country of Venezuela will become another Cuba, Russia, a communist country full of hate. Chavez will own everything and everyone. The people there that are with him must really be blind not to see this. They prefer socialism or communism to democracy.
|
|
|
|
|