Petitioners hope to oust Chavez
CARACAS, VENEZUELA - Opponents of President Hugo Chavez began focusing on a petition drive to cut his term in power Saturday, after agreeing to ease a two-month strike that has crippled Venezuela’s economy.
Opposition leaders plan to hold what they call the "Great Sign-up" today, inviting citizens to sign various initiatives rejecting Mr. Chavez’s government and seeking his ouster.
The opposition hopes one petition in particular – a constitutional amendment to reduce Mr. Chavez’s term from six to four years – will succeed, paving the way for general elections later this year. Under the constitution, organizers need signatures from 15 percent, or about 1.8 million, of the country’s 12 million registered voters – a number they expect to easily surpass.
The amendment was one of two proposals made by Nobel Peace Prize winner and former President Jimmy Carter. The other is to hold a recall referendum on Mr. Chavez’s rule halfway through his six-year term, in August. The opposition will also collect signatures for this initiative Sunday.