Government, Foes Agree Venezuela Referendum Terms

Fri May 23, 2003 12:22 PM ET By Pascal Fletcher

CARACAS, Venezuela (<a href=asia.reuters.com>Reuters) - Venezuela's feuding government and opposition have agreed on a political pact for a referendum on Hugo Chavez's presidency after Aug. 19, officials said on Friday.

Organization of American States Secretary General Cesar Gaviria, who has brokered months of negotiations between the two sides, achieved a consensus late Thursday on the wording of the framework agreement, an OAS official said.

"There is an agreement ... it's most likely that it will be signed Monday or Tuesday next week," the OAS official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

International mediators and foreign governments have been pressing left-winger Chavez and his opponents to commit to a referendum to end the political conflict that has gripped the world's No. 5 oil exporter for more than a year.

Chavez, who survived a coup last year and an strike in December and January, has said he is willing to submit to the constitutional referendum on his mandate. But his foes accuse him of trying to avoid a vote.

Chavez opponents accuse the populist president of ruling like a dictator and trying to install Cuba-style communism.

Gaviria flew with Chavez late Thursday to Cusco in Peru to take part in a summit of Latin American presidents.

The OAS chief, backed by a six-nation Group of Friends including the United States and Brazil, announced an earlier referendum agreement last month, but the deal collapsed when the government demanded changes and backed away from signing.

The government objected to the idea of international bodies like the OAS having a supervisory role in the referendum.

The latest compromise document set out a framework for holding the vote, including commitments by both sides to shun violence and respect campaigning by the other party.

"There is a shared, consensus text," said opposition negotiator Alejandro Armas. He said he was cautiously optimistic that the document could be signed next week.

Venezuela's constitution allows for a recall referendum on the president's rule once he has completed half of his six-year mandate. In Chavez's case, this is Aug. 19.

To trigger the referendum, the opposition must collect signatures from 20 percent of the electorate.

The government also insists that the National Assembly must first select a new National Electoral Commission, the body that oversees elections and polls.

But the assembly, where pro-Chavez deputies hold a slim majority, is still haggling over candidates for the electoral authority which would verify the signatures for a referendum. It will also revise the electoral register, which critics say is tainted by errors, including the names of deceased voters.

One opposition party has called an anti-government rally for Saturday, raising fears of possible violence that could derail the referendum deal.