Venezuela's government refuses to sign OAS-brokered pact on early vote on Chavez presidency

CHRISTOPHER TOOTHAKER, <a href=www.sfgate.com>SFGate.com-Associated Press Writer Thursday, April 24, 2003
(04-24) 19:40 PDT CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) --

Venezuela refused to sign an internationally brokered agreement Thursday for a referendum on President Hugo Chavez's presidency.

The refusal cast doubt on prospects for any vote on Chavez's six-year term, which ends in 2007. Venezuela's opposition staged a two-month general strike this winter to demand the plebiscite.

Chavez didn't budge, but after five months of negotiations, the Organization of American States announced on April 11 the two sides had agreed on a plan for a referendum.

Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said Thursday the government objected to several points of the agreement, including that the vote be monitored by international organizations.

"We reject all pressure coming from here and abroad," Rangel said. "Venezuela is not a colony."

Venezuela's opposition wants to ask citizens whether Chavez, whose presidency has been marked by political and economic turmoil, should resign.

A former army paratrooper, Chavez was imprisoned for two years for leading a failed coup attempt in 1992. He was elected in 1998 on an anti-poverty, anti-corruption platform and re-elected in 2000.

Secretary of State Colin Powell recently said that if Chavez agreed to a vote, "then he will be showing a commitment to democracy of the kind we believe is the correct form of democracy for our hemisphere."

The Organization of American States said the vote should be overseen by its own monitors, as well as the United Nations and the Atlanta-based Carter Center.

Rangel spoke after meeting with OAS Secretary General Cesar Gaviria. Gaviria said the opposition would evaluate the government's objections.

Opposition negotiator Rafael Alfonzo said Chavez's opponents would press ahead to get an early vote.

Chavez said Thursday that before a referendum can held, Congress must select a new elections council,voter rolls must be updated, and opponents must collect signatures to demand the vote.

Venezuela's opposition already has collected more than 2.5 million signatures, more than enough to call the vote. Chavez claims the signatures are invalid because they were gathered before the midpoint of his term, or August. The case is before the courts.

"We can't allow them to constantly change the rules of the game," Alfonzo told Union Radio. "The referendum will be held whether the government wants it or not."

Meanwhile, two army officers discharged for allegedly keeping Chavez in custody during last year's brief coup requested asylum Thursday from the Dominican Republic, a dissident general said.

Captains Alfredo and Ricardo Salazar cited "political persecution" in their asylum requests, National Guard Gen. Felipe Rodriguez told The Associated Press.